Country Life
by acidonix
Summary: Annabeth Chase is a world famous actor. She moves to the country because her mom thinks that she has been acting like a brat lately. At first, Annabeth is reluctant to the new world, but she soon becomes enthralled by it and their son, Percy.
1. Chapter 1

Country Life

I was pissed, to say the least. I mean, me, Annabeth Chase, a brat? At least those were the words my mother, Athena, used to describe me during our fight yesterday. I picked up my phone and snapped a pic of the sky through the plane window, posting it to Instagram with a sad face. I couldn't tell my followers where I was going, but I could at least share my feelings with all twenty million of them. My mother was making me travel to a small town in Kansas , to get me to "get my priorities straight". Whatever. All I knew was that I was missing out on the audition of a lifetime. I'm a very famous actor and I wanted to get a role in this new upcoming movie about romance. I'm pretty sure it was by Nicholas Sparks. The lead male actor, who was already chosen, was super hot. If I could have a celeb crush, which I can't because I'm famous, he would be it. His name is Ethan Flatt and the regular girls of the world swoon over him. He was just as popular as I was.

I looked at the little map on the TV screen that showed where we were. Thirty minutes left. Plus another four hours in the car from the airport to the house. I was staying with someone who was friends with my mom. Well, they actually weren't friends now. She just said that he owed her a favor because she basically saved his life one time a couple years ago. His name was Poseidon and he had a son, Percy and a wife, Sally. They were probably all country homebodies. I rolled my eyes to myself. I was using their last name, Jackson as a cover up. The name on my ticket and fake passport was Annabelle Jackson. My hair and makeup artist, Silena had made me up so no one would recognize me unless they looked closely which wasn't possible because we had bought both first class seats.

The seatbelt sign came on, and a male voice said, "We will be landing shortly, so please return to your seats and put your seatbelts on." I sighed, and buckled up. A flight attendant came by and I dropped my water bottle into the trash bag even though it was still half full. She just shook her head in disgust and walked on, probably thinking something along the lines of _rich kids._ My phone dinged, and I checked it. It was my brother Malcolm. He sent me an iMessage that said, **Have fun in Walshire. There will probably be a lot of people there (: Love you.** I smiled slightly. Malcolm was the only person in my family who I loved. He was the only one who understood me. If my mom thought I was a brat, then she should know that she was the one who drove me to be like that. She pushed and pushed me to be an actor. To be famous, to be rich. It wasn't what I had wanted but that was what had happened, and I had embraced the lifestyle. I didn't understand the big deal with my actions. It was how every other big star acted. We were used to getting our way.

The plane started its descent and I closed my eyes, leaning my head back. This part always made me a little sick. Five short minutes later, it crashed into the ground, roaring into a stop. I threw my sunglasses on, and got up to get my overhead bag when the plane stopped.

When I walked off the plane, I expected to be the only good looking person there. I was a little shocked when I got to Wichita. It was a working metropolis, just like LA. Okay, well it was a lot smaller than Los Angeles, but still it looked like a real city outside. I kept my head straight and walked to baggage claim. When I got there, my bag was already out. I grabbed the black suitcase and looked around for a sign that said my name on it. I spotted it in a corner by the revolving doors. A man wearing a plaid button up and khakis stood still. I walked over to him, and he waved when he saw me coming. I didn't wave back.

"Are you Annabelle?" He asked, still using my fake name.

"Yes, but Annabeth will be fine from now on." I pulled down my sunglasses so he could see my grey eyes.

"Let me take your bag." He started to say, but I was already handing it to him. "I'm Poseidon. Sorry my wife and son aren't here to welcome you, but a horse broke out of its stable last night and hurt its leg so they stayed and tended to it."

"It's fine." I said, my voice icy cold, even for my standards. "I won't be needing to get to know them very well anyway. I won't need to get to know any of you, actually, so it would be better if we stopped talking."

Poseidon raised an eyebrow. "Really? Your mother says you will be staying for three months, until the school year starts up again. Maybe even longer, if you can't get a grip by that time."

I stopped in my tracks, the harsh words sinking in. I laughed, blowing them off. "She says that, but I'll be back home in a week or so. She won't be able to live her lavish life style without my daily appearances bringing the cash in." Poseidon didn't seem like a rude person, so for him to get angry meant I must have been acting pretty badly. Worse than usual, probably.

"We'll see." Was all he said. "You'll have to excuse the mess of a car. We're busy at the farm, dealing with the horses and cows and gardening. There's some things in the trunk, so we'll have to put your stuff in the backseat."

I put my sunglasses on top of my head, my hip cocked. "Where am I supposed to sit?" I said it more like a cruel statement than an honest question.

"Shotgun," He answered. "Like the rest of society."

Man, this guy just wasn't giving up. He fired back on all of my rude comments. I huffed and grumbled while getting in the car. "I am not the rest of society." Poseidon just shook his head, and hit the gas.

I have to say, the drive was beautiful. Lush green trees lined the curvy highway. It didn't take long to drive out of Wichita, and once we did it seemed like there was no civilization for miles. A river ran through the road, the sound of the creek rushing could be heard through the car doors. Poseidon talked the whole way.

"A lot of the land around Wichita is farming for big companies. When you get out to the real country, then it's just people living off their land with no other purposes. You probably can't tell the difference between a company farmer and a small farmer, but it's obvious to the locals. We live about an hour and a half away from the Kansas City. We'll have to take you there sometime. It's a very cool place. Percy and his friends like to visit on the weekends."

"I can't go into the city. Actually, I can't go into any towns. Not even Walshire." I said.

"Oh, right of course." He gave himself a face palm, which I didn't think was the safest thing to do while driving. But, then again, I had only seen three other cars on this road in the two hours we had been on it. "People will see you, and your location has to be secret."

"Yeah." I said quietly, and started twirling my phone, uncomfortable in the silence. The truth was, whenever I thought about not being able to go places without bodyguards, it made me upset. I remember being a little girl and running through the park with my brother and mom. I would go up to the ice cream stand and they would hand me my ice cream without asking for a picture to post on social media. Now, I couldn't even go take a walk to calm myself down when I was upset or something. If I wanted to do that, the least amount of bodyguards that had to come with was three.

Poseidon looked over at me, seeing my facial expression. "Do you ever get… tired of the fame?" He asked, gently. I straightened up, putting my guard back in place.

"Of course not!" I exclaimed. "Who would, honestly. It's a dream. I mean, I live the life that everyone wants to have."

"Not everyone." He said. "We're about ten minutes away."

"Okay." I said. The rest of the ride was silent. We pulled into a long driveway with birch trees standing in a line with the road. On either side of me were acres and acres of land. The stables were too my right, and a horse whinnied as Poseidon drove by, and I cracked a grin.

Poseidon saw my smile and said, "That's Blackjack, Percy's horse. That's the one that escaped last night so he must be feeling better. Percy was worried sick about him." We pulled up in front of the house and Poseidon parked the car at a weird angle. A woman who was probably around forty-five came running out. She had long brown hair and brown eyes. Her plaid shirt had come untucked and was blowing in the breeze and her hands were dirty from hard work. She was beautiful in an unkempt way. I looked down at my own outfit and realized I was really not dressed for this lifestyle. I had on some light blue skinny jeans with a grey crop top that barely covered my mid-riff. My high heeled black boots finished the look. I also had on a diamond bracelet that Malcolm gave me when I went to my first movie premiere. I had worn it every day since then.

I waited for Poseidon to open my door, but all he did was start to unload my luggage. I sighed, and opened the door myself. As soon as I did, Sally – I assumed that was Poseidon's wife – rushed over to me.

"Hi!" She said, her accent stronger than Poseidon's was. I kind of liked the sound of the country talk. "I'm Sally, it's so nice to meet you! How was the drive over here?" Her voice bubbled over with warmth, and it made me jealous of Percy. It reminded me of how my childhood friend's moms used to act. Nice and warm and nothing like my mom. At the age of three, my mom enrolled me in acting classes, and at the age of five, I played some part of a little kid in a movie. It was like my mom was addicted to the money.

"It was fine." I said, and bypassed her outstretched hand that hung their limply waiting to shake mine.

She didn't get discouraged and came running after me. "Percy's inside, making himself some dinner. We can get you some food too, but we aren't going to eat as a family tonight. Percy has to go back out with Blackjack and keep him company while he heals. Oh, sorry Blackjack is –"

"Percy's horse." I cut her off. "I know." The words _family_ rung in my mind. I couldn't even remember the last time I sat down at my kitchen table with my mom and Malcolm. The only time we ever ate together was when we went out to dinner at some super nice place with skin tight dresses on.

We reached the front of the house and walked inside. Sally kept talking. "Your room is on the second floor, right across the hall from Percy's. It's pretty spacious, so I hope you like it."

I thought about saying something rude after that, but I got distracted when a boy with messy raven black hair turned around. I took in a sharp breath. I had expected a country boy to look… disheveled. Gross. Dirty. This wasn't what Percy Jackson looked like at all. His eyes were a deep sea green and they pierced into mine. His hair was jet black and stuck up in all of the right places. It was a mess, but somehow it looked clean. His t-shirt clung to his muscles. For a minute, this place suddenly seemed like it was going to be ok. Until, Percy started talking with his mouth open and chewing.

"Hey." He said, but I got the feeling he was just being polite. "I'm Percy." He didn't stick out a hand for me to shake which I was grateful for. They were probably covered in mud.

"Do you always talk with your mouth full?" I cocked my hip and tilted my head.

He rolled his eyes and look pointedly at his mom, like as if to say _See, we shouldn't have brought her here._ Which kind of hurt. I didn't want to be a problem. Sometimes, the comments are second nature to me. It was a guard I had built up. I hurt other people so other people couldn't hurt me. For instance, my mother.

"I'm going to my room." Percy announced. He started to walk up the creaky stair but his mom called him back down.

"You can show Annabeth her room. Take her suitcase up with her." His mom had a pleading look in her eye.

"Fine." He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He picked up my big suitcase. "Do you need me to take your backpack, princess?" He smirked.

"No, I got it." I glared back at him and picked up my purse and bag and followed him up the stairs. When we reached the top he pointed to a door on the left.

"That's your room, and the one across the hall is mine. Don't bother me." He dumped my suitcase by the door and went into his own room. I stood there, a little shocked. No one had ever treated me like that. Not even my mother.

I walked into the room that actually was pretty big. It took up half of the upstairs floor. A queen size bed was in a corner of the room with a window above it that looked out over a forest of trees. There was a dresser, a vanity set, and a closet. There was another window that looked out over the stables. I collapsed on the bed and stared at the black screen of my phone. I was supposed to call my mom when I got here, but I didn't feel like talking to her. Instead, I texted Malcolm.

 **Hi, just wanted to let you know I got here safely. Love you, and can't wait to see you again. This place sucks.**

Try to make the best of it Annie. I'm sure there not that bad. I bet you do your fair share of trouble also.

 **Only when they deserve it.**

I didn't get a response, and I threw my phone across the room. It landed on the couch in the living room area of the huge bedroom. I wasn't ever going to admit this, but the room was basically the same size as my room back home. I leaned back against the bed, and I was asleep in minutes.


	2. Chapter 2

Country Life

Ch. 2

I woke up to… nothing. Just the rays of sunshine shining in through the window, creating a soft glow of light in the room. Birds chirped and trees swayed in the breeze. This was nothing like Hollywood. When I woke up in my room, I would hear the traffic rushing by, the occasional paparazzi flashing pictures of my house. It was calming.

I was about to snuggle in and try to go back to sleep when I heard a loud _whoop_ come from downstairs. It was Percy, excited about something. I groaned, and threw a pillow over my head. God, this was awful. At least at my house my mom let me sleep in until whatever time I wanted if I didn't have anywhere to be. She and Malcolm would tiptoe around the house, letting me get my rest. I definitely needed it.

I looked at the little purple alarm clock on my bedside. 7:15. I groaned again, and rolled out of bed. I put on a pair of jeans and the one t-shirt I brought. My mother said to pack practically, but I hadn't really listened. Now, I was regretting it. I would probably need some more clothes if I was going to survive here. I stumbled down the stairs to go get some breakfast, throwing my hair in a low messy bun. I never bothered with makeup unless I was going to an event. Honestly, I didn't like it. It made my face feel suffocated. I always felt like I looked better without it.

"Good morning!" Poseidon said. He was sitting at the breakfast table reading the Kansas City Star Newspaper. Percy was shoveling pancakes down his throat in a very disgusting manner. I sat down at the table and put my head in my hands.

Percy looked up from his food and saw me. "Aw, the princess is tired." He smirked again.

" _You_ woke me up." I pointed a long fake red nail accusingly at him. I had to get these nails for a movie premiere I had done a couple weeks ago and I hadn't gone to the salon to get them taken off before I left for this place. "Why were you yelling anyway?" I asked.

"I came down and saw my mom was making blue pancakes!" He grinned, and pushed my hand away. "Put that down, your nail is scary long." I just rolled my eyes.

"Why is it blue?" I asked.

His mom, Sally, spoke up. "When Percy was little, he only ate blue food. We couldn't go out to eat because he wouldn't eat anything that wasn't blue." She laughed, but I really didn't see how that was funny. "Now, he just eats his favorite foods in the color blue. Even now, he still thinks that blue food is better than other food."

"Not that regular food is bad." Percy said.

I just stared at them. "That's disgusting." I shook my head and looked at the pile of pancakes on my plate. "Um… I can't eat these."

"Why?" Percy asked, completely bewildered. It was probably hard for him to imagine why someone wouldn't eat pancakes.

"I'm on a low carb diet. I definitely cannot have pancakes. I'm pretty sure one pancake will put me over the amount of carbs I'm supposed to have every day."

Percy looked vacantly at me. "You have to be kidding me."

"No, I'm not." I said. "How do you think I stay skinny. The media is everywhere. If I'm not in perfect shape, I'll never land another movie role in my life."

"I eat pancakes, and I'm not fat." Percy said.

"You have… muscle. If I had any muscle, I'm not skinny. So I have to diet to keep my weight down." I shrugged, like it was the simplest thing in the world. I looked at Sally. "Do you have any green smoothies? Also, do you have any soy milk. I don't drink regular milk, so there's not a chance of getting a disease."

Sally chuckled. "All I have for breakfast today is pancakes. Haven't you ever had pancakes?"

"When I was like ten." I started to glare at my food. "I'll have one." I tentatively dug in. I popped a small piece into my mouth. It was like heaven. I hadn't had this type of food in so long. I closed my eyes, and I heard Percy laugh next to me. I finished chewing and said, "That's really good." Now, the whole family laughed.

I took small bites, somehow thinking that that was healthier. I was lying to myself. But, it felt so good to have regular food for once. Eating this brought up all the other things I had been starved of. I hadn't eaten a burger since I was eleven. I remembered that day.

 _"_ _Mom! Can we go to McDonalds!" I pulled on her arm from the passenger side._

 _Athena, my mother, sighed. "We can't go in. People can't see you in a fast food place."_

 _"_ _I'll hide in the back." I pleaded with her, putting up my puppy dog eyes._

 _She gave in. "Fine."_

 _"_ _Yes!" I pumped my fist into the air, and climbed into the trunk of our Mercedes-Benz SUV. It was new so the back was relatively clean. We went through the drive thru and my mom ordered my favorite. She never ate fast food. She said that I could eat it because I was little and would grow, but when you get older you can't have fast food. She said it would make you fat. When we were done, I climbed back into the front and started to dig in to my burger._

 _My mother raised an eyebrow. "Don't eat all of it, Annabeth. You're going to get fat if you keep these eating habits up." I set the burger back slowly into my lap._

 _"_ _Sorry." I muttered. I didn't finish the burger or the fries. When we got home, I poured water into my soda cup. From then on, I was conscience of what I ate every day, and my mom supported my eating habits._

I shook the thoughts off. That was six years ago, a long time. I definitely wasn't fat now. Before I knew it, I had finished the three pancakes that had been on my plate.

"They're good, right?" Percy whispered in my ear as he went to go put his plate in the sink. For some reason, the closeness made me shiver, but I ignored it. I stood up and started back up the stairs to brush my hair.

"Annabeth!" Sally called after me. "Come clear your plate, please." I turned around, sort of shocked.

"I don't clear my own plate." I said.

"You do in this household. Now, come on, it will take you just a minute." Sally said. I trudged back down the stairs and gingerly picked up my plate, carrying it too the sink.

"It's not going to bite." Poseidon said.

I turned and glared at him. "I know, it's just gross to have to touch eaten food."

He just rolled his eyes. "I do it every day. Get back down here quickly. Percy is going to show you around today."

"No, I'm not." Percy yelled from the other room – the living room, I assumed. I could hear the guns going off from a video game and small groans came from Percy's mouth. When I walked past, I could hear him saying quiet colorful language, and I smiled slightly. I headed up to my room, and brushed my hair quickly then threw it back into a ponytail. I made sure there were no weird bumps in it, and then came back downstairs. Percy was talking to his parents. I slid quickly behind the stairs where they couldn't see me, and listened, my breathing shallow.

Sally sighed. "Be nice to her, Percy. I've known her mother and family for a long time. Trust me, we're doing this girl a favor. It's depressing, really, her life. The media watches her every move. What if you couldn't get your hands dirty because you would be criticized. What if you couldn't go outside without makeup on and an outfit on that was hand selected by a designer. Have some sympathy, Percy." It made me mad, to hear her talking about me like that. I didn't need their sympathy. I enjoyed acting and the lifestyle that came with it. Well… most of the time.

"Fine." He grumbled. "I'll take her on a tour. And maybe try to be nice to her." Sally sighed, looking like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

"Thank you." She sounded sincere when she said that. I decided to walk down the stairs.

Sally looked at me quickly, and stood up. "Ready?" She gave me a small smile.

"Yeah. Even though… I don't have any shoes. All mine are way too nice to wear in the gross mud."

"I have a pair of brown cowgirl boots you can wear. They'll probably fit you." She disappeared around the corner towards the front door when she said this, then came back with knee high plain brown boots. "Here." She tossed them too me. "Try them on."

I slipped them on my small feet, and they fit perfectly. "They fit fine. Thanks." They weren't the most stylish, but they would have to do.

"Alright. Come on, princess, let's get going." Percy said.

"Could you stop that? Annabeth is just fine." I said on the way out.

Percy shook his head. "That's exactly something a princess would say."

I groaned and shut the door behind us. "Where are we going?"

"Around the farm!" He said. "I brought lunch so we can eat out on the grounds." He patted the black backpack he had on.

"I meant where to first."

"Oh." He said. "I don't know. Wherever my mind take us." He grinned a little, and I laughed. He raised an eyebrow. "Was that a laugh, princess?"

I folded my arms. "No, of course not. Princess' don't laugh." He laughed and kept walking towards the stables.

"The horses are my favorite part of this place. I've had my horse, Blackjack, for six years, since I was twelve. The horse that you'll ride is named Porkpie. He's easy to ride, and has only bucked people off a few times." He gave me a side smile, and I laughed, but quickly stopped. I could feel my guard coming down, and that couldn't happen. I reminded myself that I'll be home soon, soon enough to audition for the movie with Ethan.

"Why do you do that?" Percy asked.

"Do what?" I said.

"Laugh, and then stop. It's like you're holding back. Scared." He said it nonchalantly.

I flipped my hair. "I'm not scared. I just didn't find it that funny. I actually don't find anything funny really. I'm pretty serious."

He gave me a sideways glance. "Really."

"Really." I said confidently, even though I didn't feel that way.

Percy sighed. "Come on, princess, let's go meet the horses. I'm sure they'll be excited to hear your lovely comments."

"I'm sure they will." I said, and walked a little faster so I would be a few paces in front. Just how I liked it. The stables were beautiful, in a weird way. There were about ten different spaces for the horses, but only a few of them were filled. The whole barn was made out of wood and the horses whinnied when we came in. A pure black one nuzzled Percy. I was guessing that this was Blackjack.

"Don't you have more than four horses?" I asked.

"Yeah." He said as he fed Blackjack a sugar cube. "Most of them are in the grass area. We let them run free most of the day, but some come in here anyway in the hopes that they will be fed. Blackjack will spend the rest of the week in the stables to rest his leg." Percy walked over to a butter colored horse. "This one is Porkpie." The horse whinnied at the sound of his name. "He's actually super easy to ride and has _never_ bucked anyone off." Percy shot me a smile, but I didn't return it. I immediately regretted that decision because as soon as I didn't smile, Percy's eyes fell and I felt bad.

"Come here. They like it when you pet their nose." He said, picking his shoulders back up. I slowly reached a hand out, and the horse skittered away when I got close.

"Shhh." Percy calmed the horse down, then turned to me. "They can smell fear and it makes them scared. Just be calm. They're like the least harmful animals on the planet." I reached a hand out again, this time faster, and petted the horse on the nose, like Percy said. I smiled again and then laughed when the horse let out a whinny.

"Here." Percy said. He tossed me a sugar cube that I could feed Porkpie with. I put my hand under his mouth and held still while Porkpie took it out of my hand. When he was done I pulled my hand back quickly and wiped it on my pants.

"That's gross. I have, like, horse spit on me now." I shook my head in disgust.

Percy shrugged. "You'll get used to it." My stomach rumbled, and I grabbed it in embarrassment but Percy didn't care. He just laughed. "Let's go eat. I know the perfect place." He took off walking and I had to walk fast to catch up.

"It better not have anything gross like bugs or something." I said.

Percy gave me a lopsided grin. "We'll see." He took off running. "Catch up!" He yelled from a few feet away.

"Annabeth Chase does not run!" I yelled after him, but my feet betrayed me and took off after him. I followed Percy Jackson into the woods.


	3. Chapter 3

Country Life

Ch. 3

Eventually, Percy slowed to a walk and I caught up with him, my breath shallow. I stopped and put my hands on my knees. "Wait." I said breathlessly and Percy stopped walking, chuckling.

"Tired, princess?" He asked. I glared at him and stood up.

"Of course not." I straightened my back and walked off.

"Hey!" He jogged to catch up. "You don't even know where you're going."

I shrugged. "I wasn't going to get lost. How far away are we? I'm starving."

"It's right here." Percy said. At first, I was confused. There was nothing around other than more trees and sticks, but then Percy pulled back a couple branches and the forest became a meadow. Tall green grass swayed in the wind and the sun seemed to light up the place with a bright glow. I caught my breath.

"This is… beautiful." I said.

"Yeah, it's one of my favorite places. I come here all the time with my friends." Percy said. He went to the middle of the meadow and sat down with the backpack. He patted the seat across from him.

I almost sat down, but I caught myself. There could be spiders in this ground. "I can't sit here. I need a blanket or something."

He stared at me. "You're kidding, right."

"No. Why would I joke. I told you, I'm very serious." I smiled slightly.

"You're in luck, I actually brought one this time. I usually forget it, so be prepared to sit on the actual ground next time." He got up and laid the blanket out and I sat down first this time, crossing my legs.

I raised an eyebrow. "Next time?" He just smiled, and didn't say anything.

"So," I said, biting into a PB&J sandwich that I'm pretty sure had been prepared by Sally, not Percy. "Tell me something about yourself. I feel like I don't even know this family, but I'm living with you guys."

"My family has been in the farming business for as long as I can remember. My grandpa lived with us until I was three, when he got in a plane crash coming back home from a trip to New York. The farm is on my mom's side of the family, but my dad also grew up on a farm as a kid. This town is super small, it only has 221 people in it. With you, I guess that makes 222." I laughed quietly. "My best friends are Leo, Jason, and Frank. And I also have a girlfriend. Her name is Rachel, and her friends are Calypso, Hazel, and Piper. We all hang out together a lot. They keep asking if they can come over, and it's been kind of a struggle to keep figuring out new excuses every day."

I instantly felt guilty. "You mean… they can't come over because of me?" I hadn't really thought about how me coming here would affect them. No wonder Percy didn't really like me when I got here yesterday. Well, I was also being pretty rude too. When my mom had told me about this trip I was taking, I had only thought about how much it was going to suck for me. It had never crossed my mind that it could suck for them too.

"Yeah, it would be too much of a risk. We can't have anyone knowing that you're here." Percy said sullenly.

"I would love to meet them though. Maybe you could invite like your best best friend over." I smiled.

"Jason." He said. "And yeah, my parents and I have already talked about it. Also, I think you would like Jason's girlfriend, Piper. She's cool, she wouldn't tell anyone. So, what about you? What is Hollywood life like?" Percy changed his position on the blanket. Instead of sitting cross legged, he rolled onto his stomach and let his feet rest in the grass.

"Busy." I said. "And amazing at the same time. I don't really have any friends. My makeup artist, Silena, is the closest it gets. We're really close. And my stylist, Lacy, is super cool too. I live with my mom and Malcolm, my brother. Mal is barely ever around though because he attends Columbia University."

Percy raised his eyebrows. "Colombia? He must be pretty smart."

"Yeah, he is. He wants to be an engineer when he grows up." I said.

"What about you? What have you always wanted to be?" He asked.

"An… actor?" I was slightly confused. "I already have my adult job."

"No." He shook his head. "I mean, what you wanted to be when you were a kid. Or what do you want to be now? If you weren't an actor."

I thought about it. "I guess I would want to be an architect."

Percy laughed. "Why?"

"I don't really know. I guess I've always felt like I don't have anything… permanent in my life. My brother is always running around at college, or sitting in his room doing loads of homework. My mother barely ever sees me, even though she's my manager. And my dad's family have basically cut off all contact with me. They think my Hollywood life is a bad influence on their boys, Matthew and Bobby. So, I feel like if I could build something that would stand for three hundred years, I could have something important in my life that was permanent." Before I knew it, I had spilled everything. I couldn't believe I had been so stupid. My guard immediately went back up. I saw Percy's face turn from shock at my sudden burst of words to pity at the meaning of them.

"Annabeth…" He trailed off.

I cut him off before he could say anything else. "I don't want your pity. I have a good life, and I just told you the bad things about it. Everyone has dark things in their life. Besides, I don't even care about any of it. That's just how I used to feel when I was younger."

He put his hands up. "Back off! I was actually just going to say that makes sense."

I stared at him. "Oh. Oh, ok."

"Come on, we should finish the rest of the tour. We still have a lot to go." He put things away in the backpack, and then helped me up.

Percy showed me the rest of the things at the farm, from more beautiful forests and meadows, to the cows and chickens that they raised. There was a small river running through the middle of their land. Even though everything was amazing, it was pretty awkward between us after what had happened at lunch. What was worse, though, was that I had returned to my usual cold self. And I felt bad about it.

We got back to the house around dusk, the sun falling slowly in the sky. The country sunset was beautiful. Red and orange filled the horizon. In the city, it was hard to see the sunset because of the tall buildings. Here, it was clear as day.

"Hey guys!" Sally said when we walked in. "How was your day?"

"Fine." Percy said. He sat down at the dining table. If he didn't want to elaborate, then I wouldn't either.

"I'll be in my room." I announced.

"Ok, sweetie. Come back down in about fifteen minutes. Dinner will be ready then." Sally wasn't looking at me when she spoke though. Her eyes were boring holes into the back of Percy's bent head.

I climbed the stairs, and went to check my phone. _3 missed calls from Mom_. I sighed. There were also thirteen texts asking where I was, was I ok, call immediately – things like that. I slid left on the missed call from Mom, and my new 6S started to dial her number. She picked up on the second ring.

"Annabeth! You didn't call yesterday." She didn't sound very worried.

"I texted Malcolm instead. I didn't feel like talking."

"Anna, you know you need to listen to me. If I tell you to do something, you do it. I'm your mother."

"Not a very good one."

Athena sighed. "I don't want to fight. How's the farm?"

"Boring." I said. "When will I be home?"

"The end of August. You're staying for the summer."

I laughed. "You're kidding, right. That's ridiculous. How are you going to go out to nice dinners with boyfriend #7 when we don't have any money coming in?"

"We have plenty of money, Annabeth, even without you working. Also, his name is not boyfriend #7, its Michael."

"Whatever. I'll figure out a way to get home. Even you can't keep me in a hellhole like this."

"I can and I will, Annabeth, because I'm your mother."

"Are you really? Because, I haven't seen a lot of motherly actions lately. Instead of shipping me off to a small town to 'fix me' maybe you could have tried harder to be nice to me. Maybe, if I wasn't ever an actor I wouldn't have ended up like this!"

"Stop this. You've been a brat since you were age one. It was bound to grow into a bigger problem later." Athena said. By now, I was crying. Nothing like having your mother tell you that you weren't ever a good person.

"Bye, mother." I said quietly, and hung up. I checked the time and saw that it was 6:47, about fifteen minutes since I came up here. I went to the bathroom to wipe my eyes, and applied a little concealer around them to reduce the puffiness. I took a deep breath, and headed downstairs, wondering what I would have to eat down here.

Dinner was awkward, to say the least. I took my seat next to Percy on his right, and looked at the burger and chips in front of me.

"I don't eat red meat. I only eat lean." I pointed at the burger.

"Well, that's all we have for dinner, so either eat it or go without food." Poseidon said.

I pushed the plate away from me. "I won't eat tonight." I got up and started walking up the stairs, but a firm hand pulled me back down and pushed me in my seat.

"Eat." Percy said.

"Why would I do that just because you said so?"

"You're being completely rude. My family is nice enough to let you stay here with them, and you can't even be grateful for having a full dinner. You disgust me. So, eat it. And then, when you're done, you can ask to be excused because that is the polite and normal thing to do." Percy turned back to his food and continued eating.

"Percy!" Sally yelled. "Annabeth, I am so –"

"No, it's alright." I said. "It was rude of me to not eat what you made me and a waste of food." I was hurt by his words, but I knew they were true. Percy was probably so done with my attitude after spending the day with me.

I forced the burger down my throat. It made me feel sick. All I could think about was the day at McDonalds. I finished about half of it, and ate most of my chips. Dinner was silent for the most part. Percy and I were sitting right next to each other, but it felt like we were worlds apart. Sally just looked embarrassed.

"I'm sorry," I spoke up. "I really can't eat anymore. I just… can't handle red meat. Actually it's just burgers that I don't like."

Sally smiled. "It's alright." I was about to get up, but I remembered what Percy said.

"May I be excused?" I didn't look at anyone, but I could feel Percy's eyes on me.

"Of course!" Sally said. I grabbed my dish and went to the sink. I thought about washing it and putting it in the dishwasher, but I didn't know if the dishes were clean or not. I just set it in the sink.

Percy came in at that moment. "Can we talk upstairs? Go up, and I'll be up in a couple of minutes."

"Um, yeah sure." I said, confused. I walked up stairs and waited in my room. I tried not to think about what he was going to say to me, but the thoughts came to mind anyway. Probably something rude and about how I needed to be nicer to his parents. It wasn't long before he showed up in my room.

He peeked his head around the corner. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah." I was sitting on the white couch in my room and Percy sat on the other side of the couch. He flicked on a light switch, and the gas fireplace came on.

"Oh!" I said. "I was wondering how you turned that thing on." Percy laughed. "So… what's up?" I asked.

"Why didn't you want to eat the burger?" Percy asked. "It wasn't because you don't like red meat. You would have been able to eat all of it if it had just been a dislike of food."

I sighed. I thought about saying something rude, but that didn't seem like the best idea right now. I decided to go with the truth. "When I was younger, my mom used to comment on how I couldn't fit into a size anymore, or how I was eating too much for dinner. She started doing that when I was about seven." I looked to see if Percy was going to say anything, but he just listened intently. "Then, when I was eleven, I wanted to go to McDonalds. I was eating my burger when she said that if I kept eating burgers like that I was going to be fat. So, I haven't touched a burger since then. Even when I just see them I get this sick feeling in my stomach." I felt a tear run down my cheek, and wiped it away.

"I'm sorry." He said. "I shouldn't have been so rude down there, and I should have just let you not eat it. I just couldn't wrap my head around the idea that someone couldn't like a burger!"

I laughed loudly. "I used to love them, but things are a lot different now."

"Thanks for telling me." He said, serious. "And, I'm sorry about making you eat it."

"It's not a big deal. It's a good thing I didn't go without dinner anyway." I said.

He smiled. "Goodnight, Annabeth."

"Night" I smiled, and he walked out of my room. Before I knew it, I was fast asleep on the couch. In the middle of the night, I thought I saw a boy spreading a blanket over me, but I couldn't be too sure. It might have just been a dream.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I groaned internally as my little alarm clock beeped loudly. It was seven AM – in other words, way too early to get up. I threw my legs out of bed and sat up, stretching. I thought about what to wear. It was hard to dress myself. I had never been a very stylish person before I had become famous. I had also been very self-conscious about my body, so it was weird for me to get compliments on a mid-riff showing crop top that I wore out on the streets of NYC. I put on some boyfriend jeans, my white Adidas, and a gray long sleeve. It was summer, but it still hadn't gotten very warm yet. The high was around seventy for today.

I sat down at my mirror, staring at my reflection. A small zit had begun to pop up on my nose. I grabbed my concealer and covered it up. My nightly beauty regimen had gone out the window when I had come here. This morning marked the seventh morning of my time here. That meant it had been a week since I had seen my home. Slowly, my guard had come down. It was still there, but smaller. Percy was sweet, and he had made the adjustment to living here a lot easier. I now looked forward to the day, approaching it with a smile rather than a groan.

I thought about putting some mascara on, but decided against it. I swiped some chap stick on, put my hair in a bun and hurried downstairs to the intoxicating smell of food.

"Good morning!" Sally said cheerily, flipping pancakes.

"Pancakes again?" I asked. At home, my menu was a variety of things. I never ever had the same thing in the same week. Usually, I didn't even have one thing twice in a month. My nutritionist said that a varied diet led to a healthy diet.

"Well, the princess is in a good mood." Percy said, taking another bite of his syrup with pancakes.

I glared at him. "In Hollywood, I have a different thing for every meal."

"That's great." Percy said. "Here, I like to have pancakes every day." He grinned, like somehow pancakes everyday was the best thing a teenage guy could ask for. I just rolled my eyes.

"What are we doing today?" I asked, digging into my pancake.

"We're taking the-" Percy started, but his mom cut him off.

"Percy has homework for the summer. A math packet, and a book he needs to read. If he doesn't do it soon, he'll never get to it." Sally said sternly.

Percy groaned and put his head down on the table. "I hate homework." He said, but it was muffled from his mouth being buried in his arm. It came out more as I hafe homfworf. I giggled quietly, and Poseidon, who was reading the newspaper, rolled his eyes. Percy lifted his head. "I don't understand any of it. My dyslexia is worse in the summer. My brain knows I should be outside with the horses and my friends."

"Sure, Percy. I can help you once I'm done cleaning up the kitchen." Sally said.

"I can help." I said, without thinking. Shit, what was I doing? No one knew I had a brain. My mom had made sure of that. People thinking I'm a nerd is not good for publicity.

"You… a princess, helping a senior with homework?" Percy laughed.

I glared. "I actually graduated last year from high school, even though I should be a senior this year. I skipped the third grade, just so you know."

"Oh." Percy looked surprised. "I just… you don't seem like the type of person to skip a grade."

"Well, I did. Do you want my help or not?" I asked, crossing my arms across my chest.

His eyes widened. "Yes, I do." He grabbed a thick white packet off the table and ran off to the living room. He sat on the couch and pulled a blanket over him.

"Uhm, no." I said.

"What?" He asked.

"Sitting on the couch is one of the worst studying habits ever. Don't you have a desk or something?" I asked.

"Nope." He snuggled himself farther into the blanket and pretended like he was working.

'Yes, he does have a desk." Sally said. "It's upstairs in his room."

"Mom!" He said. "You're giving away my secrets!" Sally and I laughed.

"Come on." I grabbed his wrist and pulled him off the couch. "We're going upstairs."

"Noooo." He whined has we climbed the stairs. His desk was a mess, with everything in the world _but_ schoolwork cluttering the top. A bluetooth speaker and an alarm clock sat close to the bed. Pictures of him and his friends were taped on the wall above. One was of him and a blonde boy. Another showed a group of boys jumping in a lake. The biggest picture showed a huge group of kids around the age of fourteen. They stood smiling in front of a small school.

"That was the last day of middle school." Percy pointed to the big picture. "My best friend, Grover Underwood, moved to New York City during the summer before high school. We took this picture because of his move." His eyes glistened in the amber sunlight.

"Do you ever see him?" I asked softly.

Percy shook his head. "No. He grew up with just a mom. She couldn't support him, so he moved out to New York to live with his aunt and uncle. They're pretty strict, and he hasn't ever left the city. We tried to keep up, but stopped talking around sophomore year."

I put a comforting hand on his shoulder, but didn't say sorry. Sorry was the worst thing to say to someone who had lost a person close to them. "We should get to work." I said.

He nodded silently, and sat down. I pulled over a comfy armchair and sat next to him. I looked over the packet. It was a simple, pre-calculus packet. Just the basics. The first problem was about logarithms.

 _Solve:_ 36 = 53

"Where would you start?" I asked him.

He chewed the tip of his pencil. "I have _no_ idea." He said, after two seconds of thinking.

I rolled my eyes. "Think about it for longer."

His eyes looked scared. "I can't…"

"Can't what?" I prodded, gently.

"Read it." He whispered. "I can't read it."

"Close your eyes." I said. He looked at me, hesitant. I nodded. "Do it." His eyes fluttered shut. "Now, think about how the problem would look. 36 = 53. Picture it in your head, like you can read it perfectly." His eyes opened again. "Try to read it again." His eyes narrowed, and he focused.

"36 =" His eyes squinted smaller. "53! I read it!" I laughed. "How did you know that would work?"

My guard popped up again. "No reason. I told you, I'm smart. Let's get back to work."

"I still don't know what to do with the problem." He said.

"First you would change the problem from exponential form to logarithmic form." I rewrote it so it said log353 = 6. "Then, you would use change of base formula and divide it." I let him punch in the numbers, and the calculator came up with 3.61. I flipped to the back of the book, and checked his answer.

I gave him a high-five. "You got it right!"

He laughed. "We got it." He picked the pencil back up and started another problem. We worked like that for another couple hours. Him, fighting his dyslexia, and me, trying to hide mine.

Percy had just finished the last problem when his dad called up the stairs, telling us that lunch was ready. I ate without a fuss, the meal being slightly healthier than the ones before.

"Do you want to go on the horses again? I can give you another lesson." Percy asked.

"Yeah, sure. I'll go put on my boots." I pulled on the brown cowgirl boots which had actually started to appeal to me. They were sort of comforting now. Something that I could take home with me when this was all over. _When I got to go home._ I no longer idolized home in my mind anymore. I wasn't worried about getting back to my house in LA, but I didn't care about leaving this place. I was indifferent about the situation.

I went back downstairs and met Percy at the door.

"You ready?" He asked, shrugging on a jacket. I nodded silently. The walk to the stables was quiet, but comfortable. He saddled up my horse, and I got on without help this time. I was getting better at riding. Percy had said that when I got comfortable with trotting that he would take me to his favorite place, wherever that was. I guided Porkpie outside and waited for Percy to come out with Blackjack.

"Let's go on a trail ride today." His voice rang out behind me. The trail rides had become my favorite. They were beautiful. I could get lost in my head out there. My problems would float away.

"Yeah, sure." I turned in my saddle and smiled at him. He led me to a break in the line of trees and in an instant I was surrounded by nature. Tree branches hung over me, a protecting cover. We rode side by side, Percy giving me helpful tips about how I could be more comfortable and ride better.

"So," Percy said, his voice cautious like he didn't know what I would think about what he was going to say next. "I was wondering if you would mind if some friends came over. Jason and maybe Rachel, my girlfriend."

I chewed my lip. "I – um."

"You don't have to answer now." He said hurriedly. "Just… think about it."

I almost said no right then, but then I remembered how much he was sacrificing to let me stay at his home. I couldn't even think about not being able to see Silena or Lacy for three months. "I don't mind. I mean, as long as you think they're trustworthy, then I think so too."

Percy looked back at me. "Really?" He said, his eyes sparkling and he sent me a grin which made my heart flutter.

"Yeah, really." I said with a genuine smile.

"Thanks, Annabeth." Percy turned back around on his horse.

Only later that night, when my head hit the pillow did I realize. He called me Annabeth.


	5. Chapter 5

**So, I realize it has been like three years since I last updated this. I started a new story, Different Cities, which you should totally go check out, but I've been more inspired to write lately, and I fell in love with this storyline again. So, please enjoy and review!**

Chapter 5

Soon, I fell into a simple routine. Wake up, eat, ride horses, sleep. Occasionally, I was asked to do chores but that was rare. Percy and I became closer and I could feel my guard coming down little by little. By the end of my second week, I was comfortable and… happy.

Happy was an emotion I didn't experience much anymore. My happiness came when my mother was happy. I was making money, walking red carpets. That was when I was supposed to be happy. And I was. But this happy… it was different. More sincere. I felt comfortable and at ease with the life around me. I felt like I belonged.

It was a Friday, the sun shining down on the ranch. The heat was blistering but I wore jeans every day. I was in a good mood until I got to breakfast that morning.

"Rachel, Jason and Leo are coming over today." Percy announced.

I bit my lip. "Great," I said, my acting skills popping up. "I'm excited to meet them." I said with a smile. The truth was, I was nervous. I lived a pretty sheltered life, and meeting three new people that didn't live in my bubble scared me.

Pretty soon, a white truck pulled up in the driveway, with a blonde haired guy driving. Percy grabbed my hand, pulling me along. A Hispanic looking boy was sitting in the passenger seat, and from the descriptions Percy had given me, I knew almost immediately which one was

"Jason!" He yelled. "Leo!

"Dude," Jason grinned. "It's been so long." I laughed, their excitement rubbing off on me.

"This is Annabeth." Percy said.

Leo laughed. "Yeah, that was obvious." He stuck out his hand. "Nice to finally meet you."

I shook his hand. "Yeah, you too." Jason greeted me and the three of them started talking again, but soon a girl with bright red hair that looked like fire stepped out of a black SUV that had pulled up.

"Percy!" She squealed and ran over to give him a hug.

"Hi, Rach." He said with a sigh and ran a hand through his hair. If this really was his girlfriend, he didn't seem very excited to see her. "This is Annabeth."

When Rachel turned to me, her eyes ran cold and her expression was as sharp as ice. "Hello."

"Hi." I stuck out my hand, but Rachel didn't shake it.

Instead she laughed, but it wasn't happy. It was a cold, evil kind of laugh. "That was obvious."

It might have been my imagination, but I thought I saw Percy roll his eyes.

"Well," Rachel said. "I can't stay any longer I have a nail appointment." She wiggled her hand in front of Percy's face. "I just came to say hi." She walked back over to her car, tugging Percy's hand along. They said goodbye, shared a short kiss, and Rachel was off.

"Sorry about her," Percy said, coming back from her car. "She's usually not like that."

"It's fine." I said.

"No, it's –" Percy shook his head. "Never mind. Doesn't matter."

We walked back into the house where Poseidon had made sandwiches. Percy dug right in, eating two before I had the chance to finish half of one.

"Rachel couldn't stay?" Poseidon asked, wiping his hands on a kitchen towel.

"No, she had a nail appointment." Percy said with an annoyed tone.

"I see." Poseidon said. "Well, at least Jason and Leo could come. We have some chores for you to do." He smiled.

"Yeah, yeah I'll get on them." Jason and Percy finished their sandwiches, and headed out the door pushing and laughing. Poseidon smiled, watching them.

"Why do they have chores here?" I asked.

"Jason boards his horse, Tempest, here. And Leo is paying for my patience." Poseidon said, but everybody laughed so Annabeth figured he didn't mean it. "You have chores too, I'm pretty sure."

I laughed. "I'll go get changed."

I met Percy, Jason and Leo in the stables after my chores. It was blistering hot now, and the dry sun had baked my skin. By the time I got to the stables, I was sweating buckets. Poseidon had packed up a snack for them, but it looked more like a second lunch. The basket was full with chips, lemonade and some fruit but I doubted they would eat the healthy part. Leo and Jason seemed nice so far. Leo was very outgoing and had a grin plastered to his face the entire time he was there. Jason was much more reserved, but I could tell Percy and him had a strong bond, like they had known each other since they were very little.

As they were munching down on food, Percy suddenly sat straight up. "I have the best idea."

I laughed. "Is it actually good, or just one of your crazy ideas?" Jason smiled and fist-bumped her.

"Dude, two weeks here and she knows you so well already." Leo said with another impish grin.

Percy rolled his eyes. "So mean. No, this is actually a good idea. Lets go to the river."

"Why didn't I think of that?" Jason said. "But yeah, I'm down. It's hot out."

Leo laid back on the ground and pretended to pass out. "We have to or I'll die from heat." They laughed, and Leo flashed another grin.

"Annabeth?" Percy asked. "It's about an hour's ride on horseback, so if you're not comfortable with that…"

"No, I'm ready. As long as we just walk." I said with a smile.

"Of course." Percy said, his eyes shining. He walked over to Porkpie with me, and helped me fit the saddle on him. "I'm so excited to show you. It's my favorite place around here, we've been going since I can remember."

I laughed. "I'm excited to go. Besides, it'll save me from this heat." Our hands brushed and I felt a jolt of electricity go through me. We stood there, staring, and probably would have stayed like that if Leo hadn't walked in.

"Hey you guys-" Leo looked between us weirdly. "Okay… well, Jason and I are ready." Percy pulled his hand back fast, and my heart was beating out of my chest so loudly, I was surprised they couldn't hear it.

"Yeah, be there in a sec." Percy said, his face flushed. "Annabeth why don't you pack a few water bottles in that backpack over there." He pointed to the shed in the corner of the stables.

"Yeah." I said and almost ran over there, my mind racing. I mean, the thought had definitely crossed my mind that Percy was cute. Hot, actually, with his sea green eyes, his strong biceps, his abs, his ebony mess of hair that seemed to be wanting my hands to run through it. But, I had thought plenty of guys were hot before. This was different. Percy was different.

"Annabeth, you ready?" Jason asked, peering around the corner. I stuffed the water bottles in Percy's black Nike backpack, and nodded.

"Yep." I said, and forced a smile. Percy had Porkpie ready, and he helped me on like the gentleman he was, but I could tell he was being careful not touch me anywhere besides my foot.

"Okay." Percy said, mounting Blackjack. "Jason and Leo, take the front. Annabeth can go between you guys and me."

Leo gave a mock salute. "Right on, boss." Percy just rolled his eyes, but smiled. I gave my horse a small kick, and we started to move.

The trail ride was absolutely breathtaking, I couldn't even put it into words. We went a way Percy and I hadn't gone yet, and the trail was a little rougher, but I was fine. Sunlight filtered through the trees, gracing my shoulders. The shade was much appreciated and as soon as we got started I wasn't hot anymore. A meadow opened up to my right, with a cliff full of bright green trees on my right. The sky was a peacfeul blue and in the moment, I had never felt more at home than out here with Percy and his friends, and this picture perfect scenery.

"I go riding in that meadow sometimes." Percy said, piping up from behind her. I turned slightly in my saddle to face him. I trusted Porkpie to follow the other horses. "When you're more experienced, I want to take you out there. When you learn how to run on a horse…" He shook his head. "There's no better feeling."

"I'd love to go out there." I said with a smile, which Percy returned and our eyes locked again.

"Watch out." He said softly, and I broke our stare to find a branch hanging low on the trail about five feet away, my heart racing once again. Jeez, this boy. I knew the trail ride was an hour, but it felt like ten minutes later we arrived at the river. Well, it was more of a creek. The sound was beautiful and the water looked so enticing, I almost jumped in with all my clothes on. Which made me realize a very big issue.

"I didn't bring a swimsuit." I said, as we got off the horses. I grabbed Porkpie's rope and tied him to a tree.

The boys looked at me oddly. "Princess, we don't wear swimsuits here." Percy said with a smile.

"Oh." I said, my voice small. I thought about what undergarments was wearing. A black lace bra with black lace panties. They were cheeky, but at least I hadn't put on a thong that morning like basically every other morning. And, they were matching, so score one for Annabeth.

Leo stripped without hesitation and cannonballed into the deep side. "Woohoo!" He popped up moments later, shaking his head like a wet dog. Jason followed soon after, and they started splashing around like animals. I smiled, but my hands around the waistband of my shirt were hesitant.

"Annabeth." Percy said, standing behind me. "If you're not comfortable, we could just sit up here." My heart flip-flopped. He was offering to stay dry with me, which I knew was not what we wanted. _He has a girlfriend._ I reminded myself.

"No, it's okay." I said. "Go, I'm right behind you."

Percy grinned. "Okay, princess." I laughed and gave him a little shove. He kicked his pants down, revealing black boxers, then started to run. I could feel my face heating up by the second and when he pulled his shirt over his head in one move, I thought I was going to pass out. But, I managed to get it together, and I walked over to the edge where Percy had disappeared into the water.

"Come on!" He said, grinning. I slipped my shirt over my head, then my jeans. I saw Percy turn red, but I decided to ignore it. I looked over the edge and shook my head.

"No. I'll go the normal way."

"Scared?" He asked, smirking.

"No way." I said. Shit. I had backed myself into a corner. I crossed my arms over my body, feeling very over exposed.

"Then come on. It's fun and totally safe. Nobody has died… I think." He said with a smile, and the look on my face must have been pretty priceless because he laughed and said. "Kidding, kidding. Jump!" He said and did a little jump in the water as if to demonstrate. My face broke into a grin and I giggled.

My feet walked to the edge again, but I stopped. "I don't-I don't know." I said, voice slightly shaking.

"You can do it." Percy said, smiling. "You're safe. I'll catch you." He said, his face suddenly very serious. I was vaguely aware of Jason and Leo a little farther to the right, but right now all I could focus on was Percy. I took a deep breath and jumped.

The wind whistled through my hair, and for about two seconds I felt like I was flying. Then, my body collided with the water, the coolness wrapping me up like a blanket. I submerged for a couple seconds, then came up grinning.

"That was…" I said, breathless.

"Amazing?" Percy asked.

I nodded. "Let's do it again." Percy laughed.

"Soon. You all good?"

"Of course."

"Good." Then he pushed his hands out, and the next thing I knew, I had a mouth full of dirty creek water.

"Percy Jackson!" I sputtered, laughing. "You are so gonna get it." I growled, shoving a handful of water back at him. Pretty soon, the four of us were involved in a full on water war. Laughter filled the air, the rush of the creek comforting background noise. Birds chirped, and the sun continued to shine down. I was laughing, without a care in the world, and in that moment I was a normal girl, a normal teenager out for a swim with her friends. I was free.

Time flew by, and sooner than I would have liked Percy pointed out where the shadows were.

"We have about an hour before it gets dark, so we should be getting back." He said. Somehow, he could tell time by the sun. Don't ask me how, it was definitely a country thing.

We all climbed out reluctantly and a chilly breeze blew through, making me realize again how exposed I was. I could feel Percy's eyes on me, which made it even worse, but I tried to ignore him. Besides, if he was standing in front of me right now, I'd be doing the exact same thing. I dried off, then pulled my clothes back on. Leo and Jason got on their horses, and chattered away, unaware of the tension between the two of us. Or maybe they knew, and they just didn't care. Percy helped me on Porkpie, then we took off in the same order we had come on.

The night summer air was definitely setting in now, and a breeze had picked up. About halfway there, a strong wind started to pick up and I shivered, goosebumps forming on my tan arms.

"Here." Percy said. He rode up next to me when there was room, and pulled a sweatshirt out of his backpack.

"Oh, no I'm fine." I said, shaking my head.

"Seriously, Annabeth." He rolled his eyes. "You're shaking." I didn't argue, just took it from him, then stabled myself on the horse before I slipped it on over my head. Percy fell back behind me, but his sweatshirt was a huge comfort. It was warm and smelled like Percy – a mixture of that ocean cologne he wore, horses and sweat. Somehow, it was the best thing I had ever smelled.

I closed my eyes, let my head fall back, and breathed.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

I had a plan. I had even made a 6 step procedure of how to follow through with my plan.

1) Don't look at Percy during breakfast.

2) Do your chores on your own, don't do Percy's with him and then do yours together.

3) Find something to do this afternoon that doesn't have to do with Percy.

4) Don't look at Percy.

5) Ignore Percy.

6) Ignore your feelings for him until they go away.

I know, genius.

I had been laying in bed last night, dreaming about Percy and his gorgeous hair and his gorgeous green eyes and his hot abs when I realized that he had a girlfriend. I tried for hours to get him out of my mind. I tried literally everything, but I couldn't fall asleep without my thoughts drifting back to him. So at 2 AM that morning I made my six step process of how to get rid of my feelings for Percy.

In total, I had slept for three hours last night, so I was not feeling so great this morning. I threw on a comfy white tank top and slipped on some navy blue cotton shorts. I didn't bother with makeup, even though I looked like death.

"Woah." Percy said when he saw me. "What happened to you?" I resisted the urge to look at him. I couldn't fail my plan this early.

"Nothing. Just couldn't sleep." I mumbled, tying my hair in a knot behind my head. Sally shot Percy a look.

"Would you like some coffee?" She asked.

"Sure." I said, smiling up at her from my seat. I sipped my coffee, and busied myself with my eggs. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before Percy piped up.

"Hey, I was thinking I could give you some lessons on trotting today. You mentioned you wanted to try, and we're not doing anything special today, right Mom?" He asked, directing his gaze towards Sally.

"No, I think that's a great idea." She said with a warm smile. "Annabeth?"

I was about to object when Percy looked at me with his big green orbs, and his adorable puppy dog face. "Yeah, sounds good." I smiled tightly. Percy's face flashed with concern, but he moved on pretty quickly.

"Yes!" He said pumping a fist into the air. I giggled, shaking my head.

"I'll go get dressed." I ran up that stairs, and in five minutes I had on jeans and my riding boots. I also realized I had broken like three of my stop liking Percy steps, but I was happy, so for right now it didn't matter.

The stables were a short walk, and Percy looked gorgeous in dark blue Levis and a white t-shirt that clung to his body. _Stop, stop, stop._ What was wrong with me? I had never thought things like this before. The closest I had to a crush was Ethan Flatt, and we had only met once.

I must have been staring because Percy asked. "Something wrong?"

"What?" I snapped my eyes up to his, which was a huge mistake. My stomach flipped. "Oh, no I'm good."

"Listen, it's okay to be nervous. Just remember, horses are very safe. I'll be there to supervise the whole time." He said, grabbing the saddle for Porkpie.

"Yeah, I'm all good." I said with a smile I tried to make genuine. He seemed happy with my reaction, and he walked me through how to put a saddle on Porkpie, but I pretty much had it down by now. I put one foot in the stirrup, and swung my leg over, getting on by myself. A surge of pride swept through me, and I couldn't help but grin.

"Nice job." Percy noticed, giving me a goofy grin which made my heart race. We walked out to the paddock, and Percy helped me, telling me where to kick so the horse would move slightly faster. I got it on the second try, and Porkpie took off. Not very fast, but it was so bumpy my helmet almost flew off and I was sure I had never looked more undignified in my entire life. I was bouncing around in a million directions and my butt was sore after just two minutes.

Percy was trying not to laugh. "Whoa, whoa." He slowed Porkpie down and I glared at him. He just laughed.

I crossed my arms. "What's so funny?" I asked. He was the one who had wanted me to come try anyway, and now he was making fun of me.

"Nothing." He said with a grin. "You're just cute when you get angry."

Oh wow. I had not expected that sentence to come out of his mouth. A blush seeped onto my cheeks and I looked away, pretending to busy myself with the reins. "Whatever. Let's just try again."

"Okay, Wise Girl." He said with a smirk. Apparently what he had just said didn't bother him.

"Wise Girl?" I asked, looking back down at him.

"Yeah, I came up with it after you helped me with math. Plus, you skipped a grade. So, you're wise and a girl." He said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Yeah, well your head is full of seaweed." I said. "Seaweed Brain."

Percy laughed. "I do like water." I just laughed the tension subsiding. I broke out into a trot again, this time pushing my feet down in the stirrups harder like Percy had advised, and my butt didn't feel as broken when we stopped this time. I trotted a few more times, and by the end I was feeling pretty good about it, but Percy told me I still had a lot to work on with a laugh. Which, made me angry again.

I jumped off Porkpie, not waiting for help. We cleaned him up in silence, and I was so busy thinking of mean things to say to him I didn't even notice the thunder cracking outside, rain pouring down violently.

I brushed out Porkpie's mane as Percy cleaned up his stall. He finished, washed his hands, than rested his hands on other side of the horse I wasn't on. I could feel his intense gaze on me, a small smile playing on his lips. I refused to look at him.

"You're mad at me." He said, his gaze never leaving my face.

"Yeah." I said, going through Porkpie's mane for the hundredth time. It had been brushed out twenty strokes ago.

"Annabeth." He put a hand on mine, the one that was brushing Porkpie's mane. "What's up?"

"What's up? What's _up?_ " I exploded on him, and threw the brush in the corner. His eyes looked a little hurt, but I couldn't help it. I had a temper. "I'll tell you what's up. You're the one that wanted me to come out here and do this, and then all you did was make fun of me." I was stalking out of the stables now, throwing the food bucket in another corner. Percy just followed calmly, like he was waiting me out. "It was just – it was so annoying. I-" I stepped outside, and immediately I was drenched. "Ah!" I raised my hands above my head, but Percy was already passing me one of his sweatshirts that was out there. I took it, not saying a word, and then continued walking away. "And,"

I felt warm hands snake around my waist, and my heart dropped. "Annabeth." He whispered in my ear. His voice was so close, I shivered. His hands wrapped tighter around me. I could feel every breath he took, his chest clenching and expanding against my back. Our clothes were so wet, and I was suddenly very grateful he had given me his sweatshirt, or my white tank top would have been completely see through. "Look at me."

I turned. My brain wasn't even in control anymore. His voice was intoxicating, and every muscle in my body was screaming at me to do what he said. Our faces were inches apart.

"I'm sorry." He said, his green eyes never leaving mine. I don't know how long we stayed like that. We were so close. We were on the side of the stables farther from the house, nobody could see us. If I just leaned up…

Percy pulled away, his face flush. "Let's go in. I'm soaked."

"Yeah. Yeah, okay." I said, biting my lip and walking back to the house. I didn't get very far though, before I felt a huge splash on my back. I stopped, and turned around very slowly. Percy stood there, his eyes shining, mouth turned up slightly.

"It was the horses." He said, putting up his hands in defense.

I giggled. "Really? Well, I guess I'll just have to help them get you, then." I said with a grin, scooping up my own mud ball, and throwing it at him, my aim perfect. It hit him square in the chest, and he threw his head back, laughing.

"Oh, you're on." He said, picking up two balls of mud, throwing one at me, which I dodged easily, but the second one hit me in the side. I was laughing hard now, finding it hard to concentrate on actually throwing mud at him. We were a mess, a blur of mud and rain and sweat. Dirt was flying and we were laughing and I was so happy.

Percy picked up a huge clump of mud and came running at me. I was laughing so hard I didn't even make a move to get out of the way. He collided into me, and mud splattered everywhere. I was flat on my back, Percy propped up on his elbows on top of me, green orbs swirling with an emotion I couldn't quite place. Mud was everywhere, but I couldn't find it in myself to care.

"There's that smile." He said, so quietly I wasn't even sure he had said it. His breath was hot, both of us breathing hard. I felt dizzy, but I was pretty sure it wasn't from the fall. He was so close.

Percy broke our gaze, and pushed himself off, laying down in the mud next to me.

I laughed breathlessly. "That was probably the most fun I've had in a long time."

He grinned, turning his head to look at me. "Yeah, well what can I say, I'm like the funnest guy in town." He stood up helping me to my feet.

"Funnest isn't a word." I said, laughing and shaking my head.

"Hey, Wise Girl, I don't need your sass."

"Race you to the house?" I asked, looking at him.

"Yeah, on three." He said, smiling down at me. "One, two-" He took off, mud flying behind him.

"Percy Jackson!" I yelled, sprinting after him. I caught up to him easily, he wasn't the fastest, and stuck a foot out. Percy went down, face first. I chuckled. "That's what happens to-" Before I knew it, I was face first in the grass as well, Percy's hand firmly wrapped around my ankle. We were both laughing hard, trying to catch our breath. I had a mouthful of grass and mud but I could care less.

"Oh my goodness." Sally said, a smile playing on her lips. Her small form stood in the covered porch. "Whatever are we going to do with you too?" She asked, but she was laughing quietly. Percy and I got up, laughing and shoving each other as we walked back into the house.

-0-

Of course, my good mood had to be ruined. I had taken a hot shower, put clean clothes on and brushed out my hair in a matter of twenty minutes. Percy and I had picked out a movie to watch, and the burgers were on the grill. Since I've been here, I had stopped watching my diet as much. I wasn't eating as much as Percy – and I never would be – but I had relaxed.

I bounced down the stairs, and saw the last person I wanted to see. Rachel Elizabeth Dare. Her back was turned to me, red hair glossy. Her and Percy were talking in the kitchen, hands moving animatedly.

Percy was running a hand through his hair exasperatedly when he saw me. "Hey, Annabeth." He sighed.

"Oh, great." Rachel turned around. "If it isn't Miss Perfect Movie Star." She sneered. I didn't like Rachel. I really could not see how somebody as sweet and fun as Percy had ended up dating her.

"Rachel, stop." Percy said sharply.

"I just came to grab Percy. We're going to dinner." Rachel announced, grabbing Percy's hand possessively.

"Rach, I told you, I have plans." He said, his tone annoyed.

"Are you and Annabeth going anywhere?" She asked.

"Well no, but-"

"Then that's not plans. Come on."

"Rachel, I-" I cut him off this time.

"No, it's fine Percy. She's right. I'll just hang out in my room, I probably should call my mom anyway." My heart clenched, but I spit the words out. Acting skills came in handy sometimes.

"See? She understands we need to spend time together. We haven't been on a date in close to a month." Rachel said, her smile sickeningly sweet.

"Rachel, I don't know." Percy hesitated, taking his hand out of hers.

"Percy, seriously. Go. You haven't been out of the house in a month because of me." I said, acting again. This was most definitely not fine, and I was jealous. But, this would help with my stay away from Percy plan, even if my heart didn't want that plan to work.

"Okay." He said, quietly. "I guess."

"Good. Let's go." Rachel said, grabbing his hand again. Percy said goodbye to his mom and dad, then followed Rachel out the door, sending me one last _I'm sorry_ look.

It wasn't anywhere near bedtime, but I had grabbed a burger to eat upstairs, telling Sally and Poseidon I didn't feel too good, and gotten under the covers. They both gave me knowing looks, but I ignored them. I busied myself by reading Shakespeare, then Pride and Prejudice, but I got bored quickly. I checked the clock and realized it had only been forty minutes, and internally groaned.

I wandered downstairs to find Poseidon and Sally sitting on the couch. Sally was knitting something, and Poseidon had a beer and the basketball game going.

"Oh!" Sally said. "I was just going to come get you. I need to do some weeding before another storm hits tomorrow, and I was wondering if you could help."

"Of course." I said with a tight smile. I pulled on my boots, and we headed out the door.

Sally's garden was huge. It was probably half an acre, and plants thrived everywhere. About half of it was flowers, roses, daffodils, tulips, and a pretty white one that Sally had told me was moonlace the first time I had helped out in the garden. I was yanking up a particularly big weed, when Sally decided to talk.

"You and Percy are getting along better now?" She asked from across the row.

"Yeah." I said, brushing a stray hair out of my face. "He's fun."

She smiled. "Good. I knew you guys could be friends."

"Can I ask… Is there something happening between Rachel and Percy? They seem…" I trailed off, not knowing how to put it.

Sally sat up, brushing her hair out of her face. "Honestly, I'm not sure. If I did know, it would be for Percy to tell you, anyway. But, they definitely haven't been getting along lately. Rachel's changed."

I nodded, but kept quiet as I pulled up another weed.

"Look, Percy really likes you. He hasn't been this happy in months. So, whatever happens, happens, okay?" She said, smiling softly at me. I was pretty sure Sally could see right through all of my feelings. "Come on, let's make some hot cocoa." I smiled gratefully at her, and she offered me her hand. I let her help me up and brushed my hands off on my jeans. Walking back into the house, I took one last look at the violent colors lighting up the sky tonight, and I realized that I didn't want to go back. This had become my home.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Percy came home that night in a terrible mood, around ten. He stormed around the kitchen grabbing himself a bag of chips, then stomped up to his room. I wasn't the expert on relationships, but I was pretty sure that wasn't how you should come back after a date. I thought about asking him what was wrong, but I wasn't sure he would like that, so I let him be. It had been a few days since then, and before I knew it, it was a Friday on the end of my third week out here.

"I'm bored." Percy moaned from the kitchen table.

I giggled. "We just had lunch five minutes ago." We had done chores and a riding lesson that morning, but I had learned over these past few weeks that Percy was the type of guy that had to be doing something from the time he woke up to the time his head hit the pillow.

His head shot up. "Let's go for a drive."

"A drive?"

"Yeah. Roll the windows down, listen to country music. Come on, it'll be fun. Besides, we can get out of the house without actually leaving." He said, already putting his shoes on.

I rolled my eyes. "I hate country music."

He laughed. "Yeah but I make everything better, so." I just smiled and shook my head, but pulled on my boots anyway.

We piled into their family truck. Percy held the passenger side door open for me. "Princess."

I chuckled and slipped in, the nickname now more endearing than irritating. He got in on the driver's side, and we took off.

"Are we going anywhere, or are we just…" I motioned at the road.

"You'll see." He said with a smirk that didn't exactly make me want to trust him. He turned on the local radio station, and started singing along to some lyrics I didn't know. The song droned on about girls and trucks. Classic country music.

I rolled my window down and leaned my head out the window, my blonde locks blowing wildly, the wind peeling my face off. The fresh air smelled so good. We sat in a comfortable silence. Percy and I had gotten close over the past week, especially since he and Rachel had their date (or fight, whatever). Last week, I could have never imagined just sitting here without saying anything. It would have been very awkward, but now, nothing felt more natural.

I sneaked a glance over at him. He had one hand on the wheel, the other out the window. His hair glistened in the sun, a silky strand hanging in front of his face. I had to resist the urge to reach out. His eyes were full of light, green orbs glowing. He looked so at home. There was something so attractive about seeing him like this, in his comfort zone. I could have stared for hours, but unfortunately, he caught me.

He looked at me and smirked. "Am I too hot to keep your eyes off of, Chase?"

I scoffed, but my heart was racing. "In your dreams." No way was he going to know the truth.

He just laughed, and started singing along again, this time to a song I knew. "Baby you a song, you make me wanna roll my windows down and cruise." He sang shamelessly, a huge grin on his face. "Annabeth, come on, I know you know this song."

"No, I don't." I said crossing my arms, but Percy just grabbed my left arm and interlocked our fingers. I was sure a huge blush was growing on my cheeks.

He started singing again, moving our laced hands to the beat. "It'd look a hell lot better with you up in it, so baby you a song." Percy shot me a look, and I reluctantly joined in.

"You make me wanna roll my windows down and cruise." We sang, laughing. I was sure my face was red.

"See!" He said, turning it down. "I knew you knew it." He didn't make any effort to remove his hand, and I tried to not think too much of it. _He has a girlfriend._

I shoved him playfully as he turned down a dirt road. We had been driving for about an hour on one of those roads that didn't have a name – just Country Road 371 or something. He pulled the truck into a clearing, with a picture perfect back drop. You could see the rolling hills in the distance, and a small lake was spread out before us. The grass was a bright green, and the temperature had dropped considerably. It was barely eighty now, and a light breeze swayed through the trees.

I gasped. "This is beautiful." I said, and Percy released my hand to reverse the truck so the bed was facing the water. I missed the warmth immediately, but I forced myself to not think about it.

"Yeah, it is." He said softly. I turned to look at him, his gaze fixated on me with an expression I couldn't read. He looked away, and cleared his throat. "Uh, let's get out." He said, pulling the e-brake.

Percy got out blankets and pillows from a compartment in the back of the truck, and spread them out on the bed. He had also packed strawberries and Nutella, which was my favorite snack. A part of me wondered if he had planned this before he claimed he was bored, but I shoved that thought to the back of my head. This wasn't a date. It couldn't be.

We nestled ourselves into the blankets, and for a few minutes the only sounds were the quiet rush of the lake and the birds chirping happily in the sky.

"I come here a lot." Percy said, breaking the silence.

"With your friends?" I asked, angling my head to look up at him. He was sitting straight up, with his back pressed up to the side of the truck, where as I had my head on a pillow that was settled down in a corner.

"No." He shook his head. "I've never told anybody about this place."

"Oh." I said, my voice small. My heart started to do crazy jumping jacks.

"I really don't know why I took you here. It just felt right." He said, his head tilted back, staring at a bird that had settled on a branch above us.

"I'm glad you did." I said quietly, staring out at the lake. The sun hit the water just right, and the waves seemed to be sparkling. I grabbed a strawberry, and dipped it in the Nutella.

"Can I ask you something?" Percy said, looking down at me. I could feel his strong eyes on my head, but if I looked up I'd want to kiss him, and that was something I could not do right now.

"Sure." I said.

"Why do you act?"

The question took me by surprise, and I realized I didn't even know the answer myself. "I really don't know. I've just been doing it since I was five. My mom, she was really big on the whole fame, money, wealth thing. Which is stupid, because she made plenty of money. She was a senior partner at an architecture firm in New York City before Malcolm and I came along." I turned on my side, my whole body facing Percy now.

"Do you like it?"

"I love it. There's something so magical and crazy about being able to become somebody who's not you, even if it's just for a few moments. But… I don't like the lifestyle. If you could strip away all the paparazzi, the premieres, the galas and balls, the red carpets, then I would absolutely be all in. After coming here though, I don't know. I guess I've just realized that there's other ways to live, simpler ways." His eyes found me, his gaze so intoxicating I felt like I was being sucked in.

Percy was quiet for a few seconds. "You could see yourself living out here?"

I bit my lip. Three weeks ago, the answer would have been a definite no. But now, as I looked around at the lush green trees, the sparkling lake, and the crazy beautiful boy sitting in front of me, I knew the answer. "Yeah. I honestly could now. I mean, I don't know if that's ever gonna happen, but it definitely wouldn't be the worst thing in the world."

Percy smiled. "Good."

We were silent again, enjoying each other's company. We munched on strawberries and Nutella – well, Percy ate mostly Nutella. Strawberry juice drizzled down my chin, and I was about to reach down and get it, when a calloused finger came out of nowhere and swiped it up.

"You had something there." He said with a grin, and licked the strawberry juice off his finger.

I laughed, but my mind was racing a million miles a minute. Of course, I had to ruin the moment by not being able to control my mouth. "Percy, what happened with Rachel?" I blurted out.

His good mood dropped immediately, and he looked like he was about to get angry. "It's none-" Then he stopped himself, and sighed, looking so sad I wanted to wrap my arms around him, though I figured this wasn't the best time. "I thought we were good. For a long time, we were. Junior year was so much fun, and I thought I couldn't be happier. But she started to get really distant, around April, about a month before school got out. It was right after I told her you would be staying with us. She wasn't very happy, which is understandable, but we had been together for almost a year. The fact that she didn't trust me was… irritating." He said, running his fingers through his hair. His eyes looked anywhere but me, but I kept mine trained on him. "She was crazy jealous, about everything. A girl would look at me, and she would accuse me of cheating. Then, her dad took a job in the city. He's now designing huge buildings, skyscrapers, and they're swimming in money. She started buying all these crazy clothes, getting her nails done like those bizarre things you had on when you first got here. She spends most weekends now in their condo in Wichita, and I wouldn't be surprised if they moved there eventually. Anyway, she didn't give me the time of day before you showed up, and then you get here and all of a sudden she thinks we need to be spending every day together."

I was quiet. I had no idea what to say. I mean, what do you say to that? "Do you think you're going to stay with her?"

He shook his head. "I have no idea. When we went out to dinner that night, which I'm sorry I left you by the way," He looked at me, and I nodded. It wasn't a big deal anymore. "all she could talk about was either her friends in the city, or how I must 'love living with Annabeth,' or 'she's cute.' She's changed. A lot. And I really don't know how to deal with it."

I nodded. "You'll make the right decision, Percy."

He looked down at me. "How do you know that?"

"Because. I've only known you for a few weeks, but you're a good guy. You'll do the right thing." I insisted.

"Thanks." He whispered, eyes soft. I shivered, and Percy must have thought I was cold. The sun was setting now, and the sky turned beautiful colors. Pink and purple streaks lit up the sky, and I couldn't think of a more perfect way to be watching the sunset. "It's getting cold, we can get going if you want."

"A few more minutes." I responded, my eyes not leaving the show. Then, Percy did something that really surprised me. He interlaced our fingers, and rubbed his thumb over the top of my hand.

"I'm really glad you came." He was whispering again, his voice husky. At this point, I was surprised I hadn't passed out.

"Me too." I said, and our eyes locked. I felt myself leaning up, and Percy's hand came up to cup my chin. We were so close.

A bird chirped. Percy jumped back, eyes wild. "Uh, we should go." He shot up so fast the blanket hit me in the face. "Sorry!" He squeaked, his voice a little higher than it should be. I laughed, but I knew my face was burning up.

"It's okay. Let's go home." I said.

Percy grinned. "You called it home." I laughed slightly, but didn't say anything back. I had surprised myself, honestly. I realized I meant it. This was home.

-0-

To say things got awkward between Percy and I was an understatement. He started inviting either Jason or Leo over almost every day, and I was ninety percent sure it was so he didn't have to talk to me. He said it was because they had girl problems; I'm pretty sure it was the other way around. The drive back wasn't so bad, but when we got back to the farm, it was like reality set in. We had almost kissed, Percy had a girlfriend, and I lived across the country. Complicated was a bleak word for the situation.

"Why don't we invite Annabeth?" Leo added, one day when he and Jason came over for lunch. Sally and Poseidon were out with a hurt horse, and the boys had decided cooking wasn't an option, so town was the only other alternative.

"Yeah, she hasn't been to town yet." Jason put in. Oh gods. I knew this was coming.

"She can't go into town, remember." Percy said. "Let's just go."

Okay, that hurt.

"Didn't you say you had contacts?" Leo asked.

"Uh, yeah, but they don't always work. Town is risky." I said, trying desperately to get myself out of the situation.

"I think one day will be okay. Besides, it's a Tuesday. Nobody's out right now." Jason said, looking at Sally. "What do you think?"

"She should be okay." Sally said, looking up from the paper. "Make it quick though."

"I guess." Percy said. "Let's get going."

I started to go to the backseat when I realized Leo and Jason were back there. Great. I slid reluctantly into the passenger seat, and when he saw me, Percy sighed. Even more great. Maybe he didn't even like me. It was just the moment, I reminded myself. There was nothing between us. There couldn't be anything between us.

The ride to town was silent. At least, the front was silent. My arms were crossed tightly, and Percy was gripping the steering wheel like it was his lifeline. In the back, though, Leo and Jason were making enough noise to count for all four of us. Singing along to the music, making terrible jokes, arm wrestling. They definitely made the thirty minutes into town count.

The town of Walshire was absolutely adorable. Cafes and little shops lined Main Street. A few people were walking around; and older couple holding hands, a mom and her little girl, but otherwise it was silent. Percy pulled up in front of a place called Kate's Diner, snapping the parking brake a little too hard.

Leo and Jason clambered out of the car, running after each other into the restaurant. To my surprise, Percy came over and opened the door for me.

"Look, Percy," I started, but he cut me off.

"Hey guys, can you get a table. We'll be right in." He yelled out to his friends. Jason shot him a thumbs up. "What's up?" He stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"What's _up_ is that you've been avoiding me all week. I'm going to be here for two more months and I don't want to be like this with you. I want to be friends." I said, staring at him, grey on green.

"I haven't been avoiding you. I mean, I have, but not because I don't want you here." He ran a hand through his hair. "Gods, Annabeth, all I want to do is be right here with you. I can't get close enough."

"What are you saying?" He was basically confessing that he liked me. I should be jumping up and down with joy, but of course there had to be an issue.

"I don't know. And I'm sorry, because I should know. It's not fair to you." He closed his eyes, leaning on the door. I stayed quiet. "I need to try to work things out with Rachel. I owe it to her… I think."

I scoffed. "You think?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. _Hey, I like you, but I need to work things out with my crazy girlfriend._ This day couldn't get any better.

"I know." He opened his eyes. "I'm sorry, Annabeth."

"Whoever said I felt the same way?" I snarled. Lies, all lies. His green eyes flashed with hurt, but honestly, I didn't care. He was being a dick. If he didn't want to be with me, he shouldn't have confessed his feelings in the first place.

"Are you kidding?" His eyes glinted with anger. "You're ridiculous."

"I'm ridiculous!?" I yelled, bringing the attention of the elderly couple walking by. They crossed the street. "Whatever." I said, pushing past him. "Let's just go eat."

"You know." He called after me. "Maybe you should just go back to your precious movies. It would make life a whole lot easier over here!"

My heart clenched. It was all I could do to not cry. I kept walking, and yelled over my shoulder, "Maybe I should!"

Lunch was awesome.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

I was depressed. I spent the next few days sulking around the farm. Percy and I didn't talk, but we didn't fight either. I didn't know what was worse. At least fighting I got to hear his voice. His parents definitely noticed the tension, but they seemed content to let us work it out. My mother had called almost ten times but I hadn't had the heart to answer it. All she ever did was yell at me, or tell me I wasn't working hard enough.

It was late Wednesday night when I got up the courage to finally call her back. I was laying on my bed, stomach down and legs crossed in the air. I was desperately bored. Percy had dove into his chores, asking for more from his parents. The most exciting my days got at this time was meals. Malcolm had texted me that day, saying I should call our mom. He said she was generally worried, but I doubted that.

On the second ring, she picked up. "Annabeth. Why haven't you returned my calls?"

I sighed, picking at my white comforter. "I didn't have time." I mumbled.

"You didn't have time for your mother?" She asked incredulously.

"Mom, I'm busy here. I don't have time to call you every second of the day."

"Annabeth, don't give me that attitude. Clearly, this place isn't fixing the issue. Maybe you should just come home."

I rolled my eyes. I could hear Percy pacing back and forth in his room, and the sound was making me even more agitated. "Do you ever stop to think that maybe you're the problem?" I asked, my voice getting louder by the second. "Maybe I only have this attitude because of you?" I was yelling now, and I heard the pacing in Percy's room stop.

"Annabeth Chase!" Athena chastised. "I raised you better than this!"

"No!" I yelled into the phone. "Mother, you didn't raise me at all. Marissa and Chloe did. They loved me and cared for me. They got me a snack, they put a band-aid on when I fell outside, they stayed up late with me when I had nightmares. All you ever did was make me do things I never wanted to do in the first place."

"Annabeth," My mom started. She sounded exasperated, as if this was just typical Annabeth behavior. My mom had never taken me or my feelings seriously. To her, I was just a money maker. "You're being absolutely ridiculous. Of course I raised you. I'm your mother."

"No, Athena, you're not." I had never called her that before. She had made it clear that her name was Mom or Mother, but I didn't care. I bit my lip, waiting for the explosion that I knew was going to come from the other end, but it never came, so I continued. "Just because we share DNA does not mean you are my mother. Family is a choice. If you don't show me respect, you can't expect to get any back."

There was a very long pause on the other side, and I was sure she was going to find a way to vaporize me from the other end of the phone. I heard a long sigh, and then, "I think we need to talk about this in person. Plus, it will give me a chance to reevaluate if I think this whole Kansas thing is working. I'll get on a plane tomorrow. Please don't cause any more trouble into I get there."

It took everything in me not to scream, and as soon as she hung up, I burst into tears, throwing my phone across the room. It hit the wall with a sickening crack, but I could care less if it was broken.

There was a soft knock at the door, but I didn't respond. My sobs were fast, and I wasn't sure if I could even say yes or no right now.

"Annabeth?" A boys voice came through the door. Oh wow. He was _not_ who I wanted to see right now. "Can I come in?"

I sniffled, trying to get control of myself. "I guess." I buried my head into my knees so I wouldn't have to look at him, but pretty soon a pair of strong arms had wrapped themselves around me, pulling me closer.

I started sobbing again. "I'm so sorry."

"Shhh." Percy whispered, stroking my hair. "I'm sorry too, Annabeth."

"Your shirt." I said miserably, opening my eyes to look at the wet tear stains on his t-shirt.

Percy chuckled softly. "It's okay." I started crying again. Gods, I was a wreck. "Shhh, you're okay." He whispered over and over again, his hand winding itself into my curls. I pressed my body closer to his. I couldn't get close enough. It was probably ten minutes before I sat up again, tears dried, but I wasn't sure if that was because I was done crying or I just didn't have any tears left.

"You don't have to be here." I sniffled, wiping my eyes on my sleeve.

Percy started rubbing soothing circles on my back. "Of course I do." He said. "You're my friend."

I laughed. "Thanks, but we haven't been acting like friends lately." We sat side by side now, legs and shoulders touching. Percy had one arm around my waist still.

"I'm sorry about what I said." Percy said softly. "I didn't mean any of it. I would hate it if you had to go back to California right now."

"It's okay." I whispered, leaning my head on my shoulder.

"So we can go back to being friends?" He asked, his voice muffled by my hair.

I smiled. "Yes, Percy, we can be friends."

"Oh, thank gods." He said with an over exaggerated sigh, and I giggled. "Friends tell each other stuff, right?" He asked. I nodded. "So, you have to tell me what's going on."

"Nothing, I'm fine." I shook my head as best as I could with my head resting in the crook of his neck. This didn't feel like a thing friends would do, but I wasn't about to ruin the moment.

Percy snorted. "You really think I'm gonna believe that?"

I shrugged listlessly. "I was hoping."

"Come on." He said, settling his hand on my chin, lifting my head so we were looking straight into each other's eyes. "What's up?"

"It's my mom." I said reluctantly. "We had a big fight. I told her she wasn't my real mom." I broke eye contact with him, putting my head back on his shoulder. His eyes were always so intense, and I needed to focus right now.

"Harsh." Percy said.

I shrugged again. "It's true. She didn't raise me, my nannies did. Anyways, she wants to come out here and assess whether or not this whole country thing is working. To fix my attitude, or whatever. She's apparently getting on a plane tomorrow."

"Is it working?" Percy asked, his hand absent mindedly drawing circles on my lower back.

"I never had an attitude problem." I said. "I just fought with my mom constantly, which she took to mean I didn't respect her, or anybody else. Which, I don't, but still."

"You never had an attitude." I could hear the smirk in Percy's voice.

I glared at him playfully. "Okay, so maybe I was a little rude. Still. She's only gonna make things worse by coming to check on me."

"You'll just have to convince her that it's working." Percy said, like it was the easiest thing in the world.

"Yeah, good luck. She's psychotic." I said, crossing my legs. I was only wearing tiny gym shorts and a tank top, and I was shivering cold. Percy pulled the throw blanket over both of our legs, and tucked it around my body. I smiled up at him gratefully.

"You do know you guys share the same genes, right?" Percy pointed out, smiling.

"You're hilarious." I said, laughing. Jeez, this boy. Ten minutes ago I was a sobbing wreck, and now it was like nothing had happened. We sat in silence for a few minutes, and before long my eyes started to get heavy. Percy was warm and I was thinking that maybe I never wanted to get up from this position.

I felt Percy shift his legs and sit up. "Mmm no." I mumbled.

I could hear Percy chuckling. "No what?"

"Don't leave." I said, my voice muffled by the pillow. I felt a hand reach out to brush a curl behind my ear. He settled back into the bed. "I don't want to be alone." I spoke again, timidly.

"Okay, Wise Girl." He wrapped his arms around me again, and somewhere in the very back of my brain I thought about how inappropriate this was, but I couldn't find a single bone in my body that cared. I curled into his body, tangling our legs together. "Goodnight." He whispered, and pressed a kiss to my head.

-0-

I woke up with the sun, stretching my hands above my head and popping my back. I hummed in the back of my throat, feeling warm and content. I tangled my hands with the pair around my waist and – wait, hands? I turned as quietly as possible, and found myself face to face with a drooling Percy Jackson. Last night came flooding back. My fight with my mom, talking to Percy. Asking him to _stay._ Oh gods, what was I thinking?

Percy's arm was wrapped around my waist, tight. His face was buried in my hair, and I had to smile when I saw the small trail of drool coming out the corner of his mouth. I tried to get up, hoping I could just get in the shower before he woke up. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. Percy's arm would not budge. I was pretty sure he weighed a thousand pounds right now. I tried to push my body up, but failed, groaning. Eventually, I gave up. A few more minutes of sleep wouldn't kill me. Besides, I was pretty comfortable.

The next time I woke up, the smell of blueberry pancakes wafted up the stairs. A hand was stroking my hair, brushing it away from my neck.

"Mmmm." I mumbled, stretching again and turning towards Percy.

"Good morning to you too, Wise Girl." He said with a smirk.

"Hi." I whispered. I was suddenly very aware of the terrible case of bed head I had at the moment and I was sure my morning breath was very unattractive.

"Sleep well?" He asked.

"No," I scoffed. Percy just chuckled and shook his head. "I woke up an hour ago and couldn't move because you were holding me down."

"Really?" He said. "As I recall, you wanted me to stay here. Besides, you didn't complain last night when I pulled you even closer." He said wiggling his eyebrows.

I blushed. "Percy, get out. I need to shower." I said, giving him a playful shove.

"Okay, okay." He said, climbing out of bed, hair a rat's nest. I watched him go, his back muscles obvious through the tight t-shirt. He started to open the door until he turned back around. "Hey, Wise Girl?"

"Yeah?" I asked, climbing out of bed to head towards the shower.

"Are you okay?" He asked, his gaze intense.

I laughed lightly. "Yeah, Seaweed Brain, I am."

"Okay." He said, a goofy grin appearing on his face. "Hurry, there's pancakes. I'm gonna eat them all if you don't come down soon." He said, laughing.

I threw a pair of dirty shorts at him. "Very funny." I stuck my tongue out as he ran into his own room, chuckling.

I took a quick shower, and threw on one of Malcolm's college sweatshirts and jean shorts. I hadn't worn makeup in almost three weeks, and my skin was glowing. I made a mental note to do a makeup cleanse more often.

My stomach grumbled, and I ran out of my room, stumbling down the stairs.

"Too late." Percy said, laughing. "All gone." He put up his hands like he was five and I giggled.

Sally rolled her eyes, but chuckled. "Of course they're not all gone. Here, sweetie, I saved a couple for you."

"Your mom loves me." I said with a mouth full of blueberry pancake. I wasn't sure how I was going to survive in San Francisco without Sally's cooking. It was heaven.

"Hey, I love you more." Percy said, and I immediately blushed. Luckily, Percy didn't seem to realize what he had said, and instead turned his attention to his dad. I hadn't seen him this happy in the past week, and a part of me was secretly ecstatic that I was the one to make him feel this way. "Dad, can you get me a cup of coffee."

"Can I get a please?" Poseidon asked, but was already going over to the coffee machine.

Percy rolled his eyes. "Please."

Poseidon nodded. "Annabeth, would you like on too?"

"Yes, please." I said, in between bites of pancake. I accepted the coffee gratefully, and took a long sip, wallowing in the warmth of the drink. Coffee was a lifesaver.

"So, did you two sleep well last night?" Sally asked, and I nearly spit out my drink.

Percy was bright red. "Wha-what?" He stumbled.

Sally laughed. "I was just wondering." I breathed a sigh of relief. They didn't know.

"I wasn't aware you guys were having sleepovers now." Poseidon mentioned from his spot at the breakfast table. He looked so nonchalant over there, reading the paper and sipping coffee, but the sparkle in his eyes gave him away.

"Dad – Mom, we weren't – I mean, nothing happened." Percy said, and he looked like he was about to vomit. I was pretty sure I looked similar.

"Well, hopefully." Sally said, pouring herself a glass of orange juice. "Just let us know if you'd like to buy condoms, though." She turned around, grinning, like this was the most fun she had had in years.

I squeaked, and Percy turned an even brighter shade of red. "Mom!" Poseidon was chuckling, and Percy turned to glare at him. "Come on, Annabeth, we're leaving. Let's go for a trail ride today." He said, and abruptly got up from the table. I followed him, trying to look anywhere other than the eyes of his parents. Even outside with the door closed, we could hear their laughs.

"Oh my gods, I'm so sorry." Percy said, running a hand through his hair as we started towards the stables. He looked extremely frazzled and before I knew it, I was laughing my head off. Percy looked hesitant, but he joined in. We were both still giggling like little kids by the time we reached the horses. Percy put a hand on the barn door to stabilize himself and I tried to catch my breath.

"I can't believe they offered to give us _condoms."_ I said between giggles, and Percy busted out laughing again.

"I know," He shook his head. "They're crazy." He walked deeper into the barn, stopping to pet the horses on the way. I found Porkpie and started to saddle him up while Percy worked on Blackjack. "Short loop or long loop today?" He asked.

"Short. My mom's coming, remember?" I said, shuddering.

"Oh, right." Percy was quiet for a second, then said, "Are you sure you're okay with her coming? I can try to get my parents to talk her out of it, or-"

"It's okay." I said, cutting him off. I led Porkpie out of the stall, meeting Percy at the barn door. "It needs to happen."

Percy nodded, accepting my answer. "Oh!" His face lit up. "I forgot!" He ran back into the barn, leaving Blackjack. "Close your eyes, Annabeth." He yelled from somewhere in there.

I laughed. "Okay, Seaweed Brain." Ten seconds later, I felt something light settle in my hands.

"Okay, you can open them now." He said.

I gasped. "Percy!" In my hands was a light tan cowgirl hat, similar to the one Percy had on his head right now. "When did you… why?"

Percy shrugged, his eyes shining. "I wanted to get you something after I was such a dick last week. I thought this would be perfect, since I really don't want you to leave. Maybe a cowgirl hat will keep you here."

I laughed, and he took it out of my hands, setting it on my small head. I did a little twirl. "How do I look?" I asked, and Percy chuckled.

"Adorable." He said with a grin that made me blush. "Come on, lets go." He said, swinging a leg over Blackjack. He snapped his heels and set off, with me right behind him. A soft breeze blew through the air today, and as I exchanged playful banter with Percy, I did my best to forget about my mom. One moment at a time, I told myself.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Our trail ride didn't last long enough. I tried to enjoy it, seeing as how it might be our last one together, but all I could think about was my mom. If she took me away from here... no. That wasn't going to happen. It couldn't.

Percy was laughing as he swung the stick he had somehow snagged off a tree around, drawing random circles in the air.

I shook my head. "I'm best friends with a five year old." I muttered.

"Best friends?" Percy turned and looked at me with a grin.

"I-uh" I stammered, trying to think of what to say, but Percy just chuckled.

"Kidding, we are best friends." He said, turning his attention back to the stick. "And yes, I happen to like being five."

I groomed Porkpie once we made it back to the stables, brushing him out and giving him a wash down. I cleaned his stall out, which I had done for the first time a few days ago and it completely grossed me out. I didn't let Percy know this though, and tried to hold my breath.

"Annabeth, Percy." Sally called, from the door of the barn. "Your mom will be here in fifteen minutes, sweetheart. You might want to change."

"Yeah, be right there." I said, putting the brush away.

"Ready, Wise Girl?" Percy asked, putting away our hats.

"Uh, no." I admitted and he gave me a smile. "Don't really have a choice though, do I?"

"Nope." Percy said cheerily, popping the p.

I chuckled, shook my head and followed him towards the house. I threw on some jeans shorts and a white tank top. I checked the time. She could be here any minute. Swiping some chapstick across my dried lips, I heard the front door open.

"Athena." Poseidon greeted, and I literally felt like I was going to pass out.

I went downstairs, the tense situation made even worse by my arrival. Percy started to talk, but I put a hand on his arm, silencing him. "Let's go somewhere private? We can use the stables." I looked at Sally and Poseidon to make sure that was okay, and they nodded.

"Okay." My mom said, walking out the door without another glance at me. I looked nervously at Percy, who I could tell was not happy about me going alone, but he gave me a half hearted smile and a thumbs up. I tried to smile back, but I'm pretty sure it looked more like a grimace.

My mom was already half way to the stables by the time I got up the courage to walk outside. Nice of her to say hi. Most moms would give their daughter a hug, say how much they missed them, maybe bake them some cookies. Mine acted like I was the last person she ever wanted to see on this planet.

I followed her in, and she turned to face me, not saying a word. Her startling grey eyes made me want to run and hide, but I forced myself not too.

"I'm bringing you home." Athena said, arms crossed.

I would have spit up my drink if there was something in my mouth. Instead, I just gaped. "What?"

"Isn't that what you wanted?" She asked, grey eyes challenging me.

"I mean…" Yeah, that was originally what I wanted. But now, there was nothing that could make me want to go back to San Francisco right now. Percy and I were finally friends again, I loved the horses, I was excited for the fourth of July party in a month, I wanted to keep going to the river on extra hot days. "No." I said, surprising myself with my firm tone. "No, that's not what I want."

Athena stared at me, surprise evident in her eyes, and a sense of pride surged through me. I rarely ever made her look like that. "Is this about the boy?"

"Percy?" I asked. "No, of course not. I-"

"I see how you look at him, Annabeth, but you can't get involved. He's beneath you."

"Beneath? Beneath me? Gods, I… who even are you?" I spit. She could insult me all she wanted, but Percy was a different story.

"I think it's time for you to come home, Annabeth."

"No, mom! I love it here, I can't leave it behind. Not right now. Please, I'll do anything."

"Annabeth…" My mom trailed off, voice exasperated like I was some inconvenience in her life.

"Mom, please." I didn't care that I was practically begging right now. I couldn't go home.

Athena bit her lip. "I'll send somebody out here to check on you. You'll get one week, and if they think it's not working, then you will come home."

"Fine." I said, trying to stop the grin from spreading on my face. "Thank you." Athena just nodded, and walked out. What kind of mother sees their kid for the first time in a month and doesn't even give them a hug.

The Jackson's all had concerned looks on their faces, and Percy was arguing with his mom when we got back.

"Mom, I have to go-" He stopped short, seeing the two of us. "Oh, Annabeth!" He said, getting up from the kitchen stool and putting an arm around me.

"Hi, Percy." I said unenthusiastically. My mom gave us an irritated glance, but didn't say anything.

"You guys are just in time for dinner." Sally said. "We're having a grilled chicken salad, and-"

My mom cut Sally off. "I'm not staying. I don't have time for pleasantries." She turned to me, eyes glassy and cold. "The help will be here tomorrow. Do not do anything else to get in more trouble." With that, Athena threw open the front door, somehow managing to walk to the car without falling in six inch heels.

Percy ran a hand through his air. "Uhhh."

Poseidon chuckled nervously. "Let's just eat."

"Yeah." I agreed, nodding hungrily. Sally brought out the wooden salad bowl, tossing the dressing in.

Percy put a hand on my arm, stopping me from walking to the dinner table. "You okay?"

"Yeah." I breathed, looking up at him. "I'm staying, for at least one more week. She's sending somebody to check up on me." Percy nodded, relief spreading through his body. We took our normal seats at the dinner table, and I grabbed a freshly baked roll. The butter melted fast and I decided there was nothing better than Sally' comfort food cooking.

-0-

It had been two days since my mom came. Whoever was supposed to be keeping tabs on me couldn't come yesterday, so they were due here in about twenty minutes. I was anxious. I figured it would be one of our staff, but knowing my mom, she would send my least favorite one.

I was sitting at the breakfast table, drowning my waffles in syrup.

"Uh, Wise Girl, are you gonna use all that up?" Percy said, poking my side. We had been pretty much inseparable these past 48 hours, except for sleeping and the hike he went on with Rachel the other day. He came back from that in a terrible mood, and I found myself wondering why he was still with her. Percy was very loyal, and I appreciated that about him, but at some point he needed to put himself first. I kept these thoughts to myself, though.

I laughed, snapping the cap closed. "Sorry, I'm just… distracted." I grabbed a fork and started moving the syrup all over my plate, trying to make the waffles look more appetizing now that I had killed them.

Percy chuckled, drizzling his waffles with the syrup. "Who's the child today?" He asked. I just rolled my eyes, and took a soggy bite of waffle. Halfway through my second bite, a knock on the door cut through the air like a knife. Sally and Poseidon's conversation stopped, and Sally dusted her hands off on her apron.

"I'll get it." She said, gently, placing a hand over mine before walking to the front door. Percy put a comforting hand on my thigh, but my heart started racing even more. He seemed to realize how far up he was and cleared his throat, blushing. Luckily, we were saved from another awkward moment because voices started drifting into the kitchen.

"Hi!" Selena bubbled. "You're the Jackson's right?"

Sally laughed. "Yes, we are, come in please." I was about to run up the stairs and avoid them until I realized... Silena?

"Oh, good." Silena laughed, and I ran around the corner.

"S!" I squealed, giving my best friend a huge hug.

Silena laughed, squeezing me back. "Hey, A."

I stepped back, staring at her in amazement. "What are – how did you?" I stumbled over my words. I couldn't believe she was here. A rush of emotions flooded through me, and seeing Silena made me realize just how much I really did miss my friends back home.

"I told your mom I was so disappointed in you, why weren't you taking this seriously, blah blah blah. Now I'm here, and we can have so much fun. You'll have to show me the horses and everything!" She said as Annabeth led her to the kitchen.

"Hi!" Silena said, shaking Poseidon's hand. She turned to Percy, smiling warmly. "You must be Percy." She said, grasping his hand. "I've heard a lot about you." Heat rose to my cheeks, and I fought the urge to hit her. This was true, of course, but in no way should Percy have ever known that.

"Really?" Percy asked, a smile playing on his pink lips. "I didn't know you liked me that much, Chase."

I laughed, trying to shove down the blush that was still prominent. "Don't flatter yourself." I said, shoving him as I sat back down to finish eating. After staring at my soggy waffles for ten seconds, I decided to go hungry.

"Hey!" Percy said, mouth full of food, his bright green eyes lighting up like they always did when he had one of his crazy ideas.

"Seaweed Brain." I sighed. "Don't chew with your open."

"Yes ma'am." He said, fake saluting me. I giggled and rolled my eyes, ignoring the knowing eyes of Silena. Yes, she was my best friend, but gods she could be annoying. Especially when it came to boys. "Anyways, before I was rudely interrupted, I was going to say that you could meet all my other friends now. Beckendorf, Hazel and Frank. They were going to go to this party tonight, but now we can go! Silena can do your disguise, right?" He said happily, but something was gnawing at me. I wondered how many other things he had skipped this year because of me. The thought made me feel terrible for him, but I figured Percy wouldn't appreciate my sympathy so I let it slide.

"A party?" I asked skeptically. His parents were in the room, and I was pretty sure party meant the same thing out here as it did in the city.

"Yep." Percy said, taking his last bite of waffle, motioning to mine. "You gonna eat these?" He asked, mouth still full of food. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes again, and settled for a little laugh.

"No, go ahead." Only moments before, he had been making fun of them, but I decided to not say anything.

"That sounds like so much fun!" Silena said. "Of course I can disguise her."

"Great, it starts at eight." Percy seemed to remember his parents were there, and looked cautiously over at them. "Uh, we can go right?"

Poseidon just chuckled. "Sure. Just don't get into too much trouble." I resisted the urge to gawk at the exchange. My mom wouldn't let me touch alcohol or hormonal teenagers unless it was at a red carpet event.

"Annabeth?" Percy asked, and I snapped my eyes back to his. "Are you okay with that?"

"Of course." I said, putting on a smile and thanking my acting skills once again. Truthfully, I wanted to do anything other than go to a party tonight. Despite all my acting, I was kind of an introvert, and I had never been to a real party before. I had never even tried beer and dancing and all that. It scared me to death, but Percy was looking at me with those beautiful wide eyes and I just couldn't say no. So, I prepared myself for a night of hell.

-0-

I had taken Silena out to the meadow Percy had shown me on my first day here. She was jabbering away about some new boy she had met in Frisco, and the awesome sex they had been having. We might have been close to the same age, but Silena was way, way ahead of me in the whole relationship department. I blamed it on how busy I was with acting, but honestly, I was just picky. Boys had flirted with me, yeah, but none of them had stuck. Except Percy, of course. I had fully admitted to myself now that I had a crush on him, but that didn't make it any easier to deal with. In fact, it made it worse.

"So, Annabeth." Silena said, my name drawing me out of my thoughts. "Are we gonna avoid the fact that you and the cowboy have serious sexual tension?"

I stopped walking. "Silena!"

"What?" She shrugged, unapologetically. "It's true." She kept walking, forcing me to jog to catch up.

"There's nothing going on." I insisted. "He has a girlfriend, Rachel."

"Annabeth, stop lying." Silena rolled her eyes. Somehow she made every sentence sound nice, even if she was being a bitch. It was a skill I needed to learn. "Come on, tell me. Who am I gonna tell?"

She had a point. Besides, I really did need to talk about it. It was killing me to bottle it up. I told her everything. From how we hated each other to becoming friends to our day out at the lake where we almost kissed to when he told me he liked me but he needed to figure things out with Rachel. Silena was a good listener, nodding her head in understanding every once in a while. We had reached the meadow and had sat down by the time I was done.

"Wow." She said, picking at the grass by her tan ankle. She had on short black shorts and a white blouse and black wedges. Not exactly the best outfit for out here, but I figured I had looked just as out of place when I had first arrived.

"Yeah." I responded quietly, hugging my knees.

"You should just go for it." Silena said, turning to face me.

"S, I can't do that. I told you, he has a girlfriend."

"Who is a bitch and he's not happy with." She argued.

"Doesn't matter. It wouldn't be right."

"But you guys seem so perfect." She whined. "Seriously, I've been here three hours and you guys have more chemistry than I have ever seen with any other couple I've met."

"Silena, it's not happening."

"A." She said, forcing me to look at her. "Just think about it. Tell him how you feel."

"No." I said firmly. "It's his move, next, if there is ever going to be another move."

Silena shook her head, and stood up, brushing off her legs. "I knew you were gonna say that. Come on, let's head back. We've got a party to prepare for." She said with a grin that I only knew as scary. The grin that meant she was about to make me look like actress Annabeth, not me Annabeth.

We goofed around on the way back, laughing and gossiping about everything that had happened in Cali without me, but a part of my brain was distracted. I found myself wondering, what would happen if I told him how I felt? What would he say? The thoughts gave me even more anxiety about tonight, and I started to wish it was already over.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The party was nothing like I imagined. When I pictured parties, it was either; 1) at a ballroom with champagne and gowns and red carpets or 2) in a tiny apartment, stuffed with city kids in skimpy outfits, lots of vodka, hip-hop music. I had only been at the first, but I knew city kids, and I knew how they would party.

This party was different. It was in an abandoned house, about an hour from Percy's house but somehow still in the same town. Cars were lined up in the grassy field, a few people making out on the hoods. Country songs blasted from inside, but good, upbeat country, the kind that even I could dance too.

Silena had somehow made me look like Annabeth but not Annabeth at the same time, if that made any sense. I still had gray eyes and blonde hair, but with a little makeup, my cheekbones were less defined, but my jawline was deep. I had a little birthmark on my neck that I didn't usually have and she had made my eyes look smaller with the use of eyeliner. Percy had looked at me a little weird when I came down, saying he liked the real Annabeth better. I decided to take that as a compliment.

We took the truck, Percy and I sitting in the front, the rest of them in the bed. Jason, Leo, Frank, Hazel, Silena and Piper had rode with us, while apparently Rachel was coming from the city on her own. Percy hadn't looked too happy when he heard the news, but he hadn't fought with her either. I slipped my hands out of the sun roof, laughing and giggling with my friends.

Friends. What a foreign concept. I had never really had friends. Makeup artists, designers, personal stylists. They were my friends, but they were forced friends. These people… they had chosen to be my friend. They had thought in their head, hey she's cool. Probably not, but something like that. The idea made me grin, and I felt Percy looking at me with that adorable little smile.

"What's up?" He asked, eyes falling back onto the road.

"Just feeling incredibly lucky." I said, bringing my hands back into the car.

"Me too." He responded with another little glance, and I let myself blush, just a little bit, because wow this boy made me feel crazy things.

We got to the party too soon. I could have stayed in that beaten up truck, with my head out the window and music blasting for all of eternity, but unfortunately that didn't happen.

I was overwhelmed the minute I stepped into the house – if you could call it that. There were so many holes in the roof, you could easily feel the summer air. The floorboards creaked, and with every step I was worried I was going to fall in. Kids were stuffed in every nook and cranny, not even an inch of space empty.

Percy found Rachel pretty quickly, and they went off to do god knows what. I tried not to think about it.

Piper and Jason went straight to the dance floor, meshing their bodies. Jason looked like he was in heaven. I heard they hadn't been dating very long, so this was probably some new territory. The rest of us grabbed the closest drink we could find. I chugged mine, trying to get myself to loosen up, but the alcohol didn't work fast enough. Energy pulsed all around us, sweaty bodies bumping and grinding and dancing.

Leo dragged me around, introducing me to everybody that walked. Leo was one of those kids that was friends with every person in high school, and he apparently thought I needed to be too.

Eventually, I found myself buzzed, laughing in the kitchen at something Hazel had said. Silena, Hazel, Piper and I were hanging out in the back, taking a break from the chaos. I hadn't seen Percy since the beginning, but for once I didn't care. I was having fun, letting go, and it felt so, so good.

"Piper, you can't talk." Silena giggled. "I saw you with Jason over there, and it did not look PG." They all laughed, probably way more than they would have if they were sober.

"So? We're dating. Some people just throw themselves at each other." Piper put her hands up in defense. "It's just a little disgusting."

"Piper's right." Hazel added. "Keep it in your pants."

I fanned my face in false embarrassment. "Hazel, I think that's the craziest sentence that's ever come out of your mouth." I giggled, and the other girls joined in. We talked about anything and everything; boys, outfits, hair issues, summer plans. They asked me how everything was with the Jackson family and Percy, and I did my best to try to avoid the inevitable conversation about our relationship. Apparently Piper and Hazel weren't huge fans of Rachel either.

Silena had just told some story about her boy toy – Beckendorf, I had learned, when Percy came storming by, knocking my drink onto the floor with his arms swinging wildly. I jumped out of the way, my jeans only getting a little splashed, but I didn't really care. They would dry in ten seconds with the heat wave we had been having.

"Perce?" I asked, and cautiously put out an arm to stop him, but he wrenched it away, fast and hard.

"Don't touch me." He growled, and pulled the front door wide open, not bothering to close it.

"I- what?" I stumbled, and Piper squeezed my hand.

"Don't worry about it." She said gently. "He didn't mean that. It's not you he's mad at." I nodded, but I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

"It was probably Rachel." Hazel said, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"True." Piper said. "They haven't gotten along for months. I'm really not sure why they're still together."

I shrugged. "I think he feels like he owes it to her to try, but out of the few times I've seen them around together, it doesn't look like she's trying."

"I would bet money she's cheating." Piper said, taking another sip of vodka.

"Oh, definitely." Hazel said.

"I'll go find Jason, get someone to check on him." Piper said, standing up from her seat at the island – or what was left of one.

I stopped her. "I'll go." I said, not really knowing what I was doing. He didn't want to see me.

"Okay." Piper looked reluctant, but she let me go.

I found him leaning against the truck, a cigarette hanging loosely in his mouth. His head was back, eyes wide open, staring up at the stars.

"You shouldn't be doing that." I joked. "It's not good for you."

He looked down, a small smirk playing on his lips, all anger forgotten. "I know, I just…" He shook his head, stomping the cig into the ground.

I pointed up at the sky. "See that one?" He nodded. "That's Hercules." I pointed out another. "The Big Dipper." I grabbed his hand, moving it over a smaller constellation. "Orion, my personal favorite."

He laughed. "You're kind of a nerd, you know that?"

I laughed. "Nope, no idea."  
He grinned. "A cute one, though." And… Cue the blush.

"So what's up?" I asked, leaning against the car next to him, so close our fingers were brushing.

"Just Rachel." He sighed, running a hand through his mop of black hair. I didn't respond, just waited for him to continue. "We were fooling around, until she wanted to have sex tonight. I said no, not that I mean, we haven't done it before, but I just couldn't tonight. I wasn't feeling it, which I know sounds weird, usually it's the girl, but I've felt so disconnected from her lately… I don't know."

"No." I shook my head. "You're completely in the right."

He nodded, but didn't say anything. Silence stretched between us, until finally he cut the tension. "You ever been in love?" Well, tension back.

I blushed. "No."

"Me neither." He said, leaning his head back again. "I feel like I should be, at this point with her, but I can't bring myself to say it and it makes me feel like a huge dick because she's told me millions of times, told me she's totally okay with waiting for me to get there, but I just can't spit out those three little words."

"They're not three little words." I whispered, so quiet I wasn't sure he would hear me.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Love isn't just three little words. I don't say it to everybody. The only person I've said I love you too within the last few years is my brother. Love is earned. It's giving yourself to somebody, trusting them with your life. It's being so comfortable with them that you can show them every single side to you, good or bad. When your body aches every time you're with them or without them. When they're a part of you, a lifeline. That's love." Words tumbled out, and I couldn't stop myself, no matter how much I might have wanted too. Damn alcohol.

Percy looked a little shocked at first, but his face spread into a huge grin. "Annabeth Chase," He started, grabbing my hand and lacing our fingers together. "You are something else." I blushed, and looked away, afraid my hand was sweating buckets.

"So what are you going to do?" I asked, looking back up at the stars.

"Talk to her, I guess." He shrugged. "I don't really know what to else to do."

"Um, break up with her." I said, a little too harshly, and he retracted his hand from mine.

"What?" He got off the truck, and turned to face me.

"You aren't happy, so break up with her." I was already one foot in. There was no turning back now.

"Things aren't always so black and white, Annabeth." He sneered, stepping closer. "You have no right to butt in with your opinions."

"No?" I questioned, tilting my head and cocking my hip. I could have attitude if I wanted too, and right now it was shining through pretty heavily.

"No, you don't." He shook his head. "Who do you think they are?"

That set me off. "Who do I think I am? Maybe, I don't know, the girl you've been complaining to about Rachel this whole fucking summer, you're best friend, the girl who's shoved in the back because you can't figure out your damn fucking feelings!" I screamed, and we were nose to nose now. Tears threatened to spill over the edge, but I wouldn't let them. I couldn't let Percy see me weak right now.

His eyes flashed dangerously, and I tried to take a step back when I realized I was literally boxed in right now. Percy had his right hand on the truck, boxing me in, and I started to feel claustrophobic. "I was talking to you because I thought you were my friend, but apparently you don't care." His voice was hard and tense, and he had never spoken to me this way.

I balled my fists. "That's not fair, Percy. I never said I didn't care, I just don't want to keep hearing about all these fucking issues when you won't do anything to make yourself happy, because goddamn Percy all I want is for you to be happy!" He was staring at me, intense, in a way that made me want to squirm and run away, but I couldn't bring myself to move.

"Gods, Annabeth, stop swearing." He said, running a hand through his air, expression unreadable.

"So what are you now, Jackson, sexist?" I scoffed. "Gods, just – just fuck you!"

"Shit." He said, looking at me with that gaze that I never could break away from, but something was in his eyes, something I had never ever seen before.

Then his lips were on mine, and we were kissing and it was passionate and desperate and hot and messy and my hands were pinned above my head. He gripped my waist, pulling me closer, clawing at me, our bodies fitting together in such a perfect way that I let out a little happy sigh as he nibbled on my bottom lip, because this is what kissing should feel like. We stayed like that, trying to find a way to cling on, and I couldn't get close enough, grabbing the hem of his t-shirt, my fingers grazing his bare skin, and –

His eyes snapped open, and he pushed away, lips bruised, gasping for breath. "I – I, oh gods." He mumbled, pulling at his t-shirt.

I touched my lips gently, the past five minutes seeming like a dream. "Percy." I whispered.

He looked at me with a pained expression. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.

"What did we do?" I mumbled.

"This – this didn't happen." He said, eyes wild and crazed.

I shook my head fast, my hair whipping around in the wind. "Yeah, no, let's just go back in."

"Uh, yeah." He started walking, then turned back around. "You go first, I'll come later."

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. The girls were where I left them, none of them even close to drunk anymore. We knew we were going to have to go back to our parents soon, and nobody wanted to be in trouble.

"Where's Percy?" Hazel asked.

"Um, he," I breathed out, then gripped the table, trying to get a hold of myself. "Taking a walk." I spit out eventually, even though it was the stupidest lie. He would be back in less than five minutes, if that.

"Okay…" Piper said. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah!" I said, then cursed in my head, my voice way too enthusiastic. "I mean, I guess."

Silena nodded slowly. "You guys just talked?"

I laughed nervously, fingers drumming on the table. "Yeah, what else would we have been doing?" I didn't meet their eyes. They didn't say anything, but I saw their eyes drop to my bruised lips and wild hair.

Pretty soon, we left the party. I got in the back with everybody else, letting Piper take the front with Jason. When I asked Leo where Percy was, he said he was going home with Rachel. "Classic, classic." He had grinned, singing along to whatever song was playing. It took everything in me not to burst into tears.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

To say things had been awkward at the Jackson house would be an understatement. Percy and I skirted around each other, coming down for breakfast at different times, doing chores when we knew the other one wasn't out there. His parents definitely noticed, but they didn't say much.

I spent most of my time in my room now, reading the three books I had brought with me over and over again. Silena came and went, promising to put in a good word for me with my mother.

"I'll tell her you were just in a bad mood the day she came." She had said, two days after the party. "Or, no, I'll tell her I whipped you into shape." Silena giggled, like that was a funny image.

I rolled my eyes, laughing. "Whatever works, S." She gave Sally a hug, and shook Poseidon's and Percy's hands.

I gave her a huge hug. "Thanks for coming." I said, pulling away.

"Of course!" She said with a grin. "I'll see you soon, ok?"

"Yeah." I said with a little nod. "Love you."

"Love you too, A." She said, one foot out the door already. "You guys get along, okay?" She looked pointedly at Percy and I, and we both blushed, but I wasn't able to get a word in before she was out the door completely, dust blowing from the force.

I came down for dinner that night, just to grab my plate and head right back to my room, but I was unfortunately stopped.

"Annabeth, sweetie." Sally said. "Hold on a second."

"What's up?" I asked, turning around and taking a bite of mac & cheese.

"Poseidon and I have to go into the city, we need some decorations for the Fourth of July party. Percy's in his room, can you let him know?" She asked.

I nodded. "Sure, anything else?"  
Poseidon shook his head. "We'll be back in a couple hours."

I knocked on Percy's door, and heard a little grunt. I assumed that meant I could come in, so I

opened it up slightly. "Hey, you're parents are going into town, they'll be back in two."

I knew he knew I was there. I was loud, and he had looked up when I first came in, but he didn't respond, just went back to whatever he was doing. "Okay…" I trailed off, not sure what to say. He didn't even look up, and I started to get angry. "Look, I don't know what your problem is, but you have no right to be mad with me."

"No right?" He snapped, throwing his notebook down on the ground. "You're the one that just showed up here, flaunting your blonde hair and fancy clothes, and now my relationship's ruined."

"Ruined?" I sneered. "It was ruined long before I got here, and you know it. Jesus, Percy, you know, for two seconds there I thought you might be a good guy." I was yelling at this point, but I faltered. "Clearly, you're not." I said softly, and I could see Percy's shoulders relax. He sat back down on his bed, eyes filling with an emotion I couldn't place.

"Annabeth…" He trailed off, looking up at me with a pained expression.

"Save it." I snapped, and slammed the door shut, locking my own door so he couldn't come in.

Before I knew it, the tears started. I felt ridiculous, crying over him. He wasn't even a good _guy._ He had cheated on his girlfriend – given, a girlfriend there was no real connection with, but still – he played with my feelings constantly, he couldn't get his feelings straight. I stopped, shaking my head. I was pissed at him, sure, but maybe I should be a little more lenient. Relationships were tricky, especially when you were a teenager, and Percy was trying his best. That I believed. He may have been a stupid idiot 99% of the time, but he had a good heart. That's what mattered, right?

I hadn't realized how much time I had spent face down in my pillow, crying my mascara off. I heard a quiet knock, and checked the clock, realizing I had spent two hours locked in here.

"Come in." I said miserably, rubbing my irritated eyes.

"Uh, Annabeth?" Percy's voice came from the other side, and I internally groaned. "It's locked."

"Oh." I sniffled. "Right."

"Come on, let me in." He paused, but I didn't answer. "Please, Wise Girl." He said with a little whine, and I smiled despite myself at the sound of the nickname.

I got up, and unlocked the door, the little click it made sounding deathly loud.

"My, um-" He stopped short, taking notice of my red-rimmed eyes and puffy cheeks. "Are you, um, okay?" He asked, nervously running a hand through his hair. I snorted, but before I could say some smart comment back, he shook his head. "Stupid question, of course you aren't."

I nodded slowly, "So… what's wrong?"

"Oh, right." He said, a look of realization dawning on his face. "Um, there's a tornado warning, so my parents can't make the drive back. We know people in the city, so they're staying with them, but we're supposed to go in the basement to wait it out." He waited for me to respond, but I didn't say anything. I didn't trust myself to talk.

"Um, okay, so just come down when you're ready. Or, I mean, sooner rather than later, you know, since you don't want to die and you need to be safe and-" Percy took a deep breath, and I couldn't help but smile a little, happy that I could still make him nervous after everything. "Sorry, I'll just leave you alone. Come down soon." He said, and turned on his heels, basically running out of my room.

Gods, what a disaster. Not even one week since that… whatever it was, and I had to spend the night with him in a basement. Yay.

I was sulking in my room, trying desperately to avoid the inevitable. I was happily reading away – Pride and Prejudice for the fifth time since I got here – when the lights went out. It registered that this tornado was real, and I probably should listen to Percy and get downstairs. The wind howled, and I could hear the horses outside. Rain pounded my window, and I started to shiver, my little tank top suddenly not enough warmth even in the middle of summer.

I got up, but realized I really didn't know this house well enough to get around in the dark. "Percy?" I said timidly, and I heard his footsteps at the edge of the stairs.

"Annabeth? You okay?" He asked, his voice full of worry. "You should have come downstairs a long time ago."

I sighed, but didn't say anything.

"Can you make it down alone, or do you want me to come up?"

I balled my fists. "I'm fine alone." I said sharply, my pride getting in the way of what I really wanted. I stumbled down the stairs, gripping the railing so hard I felt my fingers turn purple. Percy was at the bottom waiting for me.

"Good?" He asked, and I looked up at him, as well as I could when I couldn't make out his face.

I nodded, but realized he couldn't see me. "Yeah." I said, but my voice was shaking.

"Come on, let's grab the flashlights." He said gently, taking my hand. I almost protested, but decided I wouldn't be able to even make it to the kitchen without his help, let alone find flashlights.

"I think…" He trailed off, thinking aloud. "They should be in this drawer, hold on." He let go of my hand to look, and I instinctively stepped closer to his body warmth. "Here we go." He said, lighting up the flashlight, revealing his face less than an inch away from me. My stomach melted, dropped to the floor, butterflies raced around, and I suddenly had intense flashbacks of my hands pinned on his truck, lips parted.

I jumped away, and Percy was blushing as he handed me my flashlight. "Sorry." He murmured.

"Not your fault." I said, and lit up my own flashlight as he went to go grab some candles for downstairs.

"It's kind of messy down here, but it's warm and we'll be safe." He said, and I didn't respond. What do you say to the guy that's breaking your heart? He led me down the stairs, candles and granola bars in hand.

The basement was cozy. There was a huge, dingy brown couch and a flat screen TV. A mini fridge sat in the corner, but the only thing in it was beer. There was a pool table and a foosball table in the corner, and a little dining table in the other corner, where some trash and empty beer bottles sat. It was warm, and there was a fireplace that could have been lit if there wasn't a raging storm going on outside.

"Um, sorry, it's a mess." Percy said, trying to dump the beer bottles into a trash can, but I could care less.

"Do you spend a lot of time down here?" I asked, taking a seat on the edge of the couch.

"In the winter, yeah, with the boys mostly." He said, running a hand through his hair. He set the candles he had brough down on the coffee table and lit them, his face beautiful and ghostly in the amber light.

"Getting drunk." I noted with a little laugh.

"And movies and football!" He protested, but he was laughing too. It didn't take long for the tension to set back in, as Percy took a seat on the couch as far away from me as possible.

"Want to play UNO?" He asked with a little smile a few minutes later.

"Sure." I grinned, deciding to make the best of our time down here. It would pass slower if I was miserable and bitchy the whole time. "Just so you know, though, I always win." I said as he got out the cards.

"I wouldn't be so sure." He promised, and I just laughed. Twenty minutes later, we found ourselves in the middle of a full on war, one that I was most definitely winning.

"How?" He whined as I won my seventh game out of the nine we had played.

I just laughed. "Luck." I shrugged, but that wasn't true. I knew how to count the cards, and the two times he had won, I had let him win so he wouldn't complain too much. Eventually, we ended, me with nine games won and him with four.

"You're awesome at like everything." He complained, leaning his head back on the couch.

I took a seat next to him, chuckling. "Not true." I said.

"Very true," He said, opening his eyes, and turning his head towards me. "I-" He stopped short, noticing how close we were for the second time today.

I could feel my breathing turn shallow, and it took everything in me not to lean up and kiss him, because no matter how he treated me, I still had feelings for him. That was the annoying thing about crushes, they never went away no matter what happened.

"Sorry." He murmured, his hot breath that smelled like hot cocoa fanning out over my face, making me blush.

"S'okay." I mumbled back, and tried to tear my eyes away from that intense gaze, but I couldn't find the will. Luckily, Percy did, jolting back up from the couch.

"I'll, um, sleep on the floor." He said, running to a closet and grabbing pillows and blankets. Too soon, there was an issue. There were two pillows, one huge comfy blanket, and one thin sheet. "I'll just grab some from upstairs."

I shook my head. "Too dangerous." I could see him starting to protest, but he stopped while I continued, a nervous wreck. "You can sleep up here, it's plenty big enough."

"Annabeth, I don't-" He shook his head wildly.

I rolled my eyes. "Look, we don't even have to touch if you don't want to, but you shouldn't have to sleep on the floor with no blankets."

Percy blushed. "It's not that I don't want to touch you, but I-" He shook his head again, probably trying to clear it from whatever dirty teenage boy idea popped up in his head. "I'm trying to be a gentleman."

I smiled. "Well, I appreciate the effort, but don't be ridiculous. Come on." I said, motioning towards the couch. "You sleep towards the back though, I hate when I touch the back of a couch."

Percy snorted. "You what?" He asked, pulling the blankets up over us.

I shrugged as I snuggled in, suddenly becoming acutely aware of how tiny this once huge couch seemed. "I'm weird." I said, my voice an octave higher than normal, but if Percy noticed he didn't say anything.

We were silent for a while, and I wasn't sure if Percy was still awake, until he said something so crazy I thought I might have been dreaming this whole night.

"You awake?" He asked quietly. We were laying on our backs, arms and legs touching slightly because of lack of room.

"Yeah." I said, nodding.

He paused for a second, then said. "I broke up with Rachel."

I almost laughed. "What?" I asked, turning on my side to face him. e He did the same, our faces inches from each other now. If I hadn't been in shock from what he had just said, I probably wouldn't be able to formulate a working sentence right now.

"Yeah." He whispered. "You said you thought I was a good guy, but you were wrong." He paused, and I nodded, wanting him to continue. "And I started thinking about how I've been towards you lately, and how I disregarded your feelings because I put my own ahead of yours, and I was so confused, and it wasn't fair to you, Annabeth. I don't want to be that guy you think I am. It's not me. So I… ended things. It hurt, but we both knew it was for the best."

I didn't talk at first, afraid of saying something I would regret. "Annabeth." He spoke up a few minutes later. "Say something." He pleaded, taking my hand.

"I-" I faltered, trying to find the right words. I settled on, "Okay." He looked confused, so I tried to clarify. "I mean… thank you. For telling me that, and apologizing. It's okay, Percy, honestly, I get it. Breakups are hard, especially when you've known each other forever. So… I guess I'm saying everything's okay. For now. But, we're just friends for now, okay?"

"Okay." He responded with a silly little smile. "I like being friends with you."

I rolled my eyes, but giggled. "Oh my goodness. Good night, Seaweed Brain."

He tapped my nose with a huge goofy grin. "Goodnight, Wise Girl." I rolled back over, facing the TV, and felt Percy's hand rest lightly on my hip, a warm little reminder that we were okay now.

 **Hey, I'm back! This was a fun chapter to write, one that I had pretty much planned on from the beginning. Let me know how it was, review!**

 **My other story, Different Cities, will be updated hopefully by the weekend. I haven't started, but I know where I want to go with it so it should be pretty easy. If you haven't checked it out, please do! It's an office AU about Percy and Annabeth, and a little bit farther along than this one.**

 **I'm also in the middle of writing a story set in the future, mostly focusing on Percy and Annabeth in high school, but also kind of a government control, science fiction thing, and I am uploading the prologue right after this, so please go check it out! Thanks!**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Life was good. Extremely good. Percy and I were on speaking terms again, our riding lessons started up again. We were pretty much inseparable now, especially with Rachel out of his life. I would never say this out loud, but every time I thought about how they weren't together anymore, my heart did a million jumping jacks.

Jason and Leo came over all the time now, and we spent most of our afternoons at the creek. My mom hadn't bothered me since Silena left, and it seemed like I was in the clear.

The tornado had passed through, and hadn't caused us or Sally and Poseidon any trouble. The morning after, though, was slightly awkward.

"Kids!" Poseidon called. I stirred slightly in my sleep, vaguely aware of the voice upstairs. "Guys, you okay?" I woke up in a daze, trying to unwrap myself from whatever was holding me down, but I couldn't get it off. I could hear his footsteps coming down the stairs, and I gave up, giving back in to sleep again. I was too warm and cozy to get up, and Poseidon could move whatever was on me.

"Well," Poseidon said, with a smirk in his voice. "This is interesting."

"What?" I tried to say, but it came out in mumbles. I rubbed my eyes, trying to get the sleep out. Poseidon stood there, a little blurry, but there. "Oh, good morning." I said, relaxing a little.

Poseidon just stood there, eyebrows raised with a little grin on his face. I went to move the arm that was wrapped around me again, but – Oh, gods, arm. Percy's arm. I tried to scramble out of his grasp, but Percy just pulled me tighter, still totally oblivious to what was going on.

"I-I," I stuttered, not sure what to say, but Poseidon started to chuckle.

"He's always been a cuddler." He grinned, my blush deepening further. "There's waffles when you're ready. I'll let you work on waking him up." He said, walking away and shaking his head.

I made sure Poseidon was up the stairs with the door shut before I shook Percy's arm gently. "Seaweed Brain." I whispered. "Wake up." He barely even stirred. I sighed, rolling my eyes. "Percy, come on. Waffles, pancakes." I said, desperately. I could barely move, my head just slightly turned to look at him, his arm still snaked around my waist.

The thought of kissing him to wake him up crossed my mind, but I shook my head. No way. I decided on slapping him. "Percy." I said, lightly hitting his cheek. He groaned, but he didn't wake up. "Come on, idiot." I said, slapping him a little harder.

He shot up, letting go of me. "Ow! What was that-" He paused, noticing me laying there next to him. "Oh, hey Annabeth."

I laughed, rolling my eyes. "Hey, Percy. There's waffles upstairs, your dad came down and told us."

"Waffles?" He asked, his eyes lighting up like a little kid. "Let's go!" He jumped up, practically tripping over himself on the way to the door. I sat up, giggling like crazy. He paused, turning to look back at me. "Come on, come on!"

"Okay, Seaweed Brain, hold on." I said, throwing the blankets off, and going to join him.

He grabbed my hand, pulling me along. We got to the basement door, when he stopped. "Wait." He said, turning towards me with a grin. "Good morning, Wise Girl."

I laughed, our faces so close our noses were basically touching. "Good morning." I said quietly, with a little smile. He turned away, and opened the door, the smell of fresh waffles enveloping my senses.

-0-

So yeah, things were a little awkward between the two of us and his parents after that. At least they didn't bring up the whole condom thing again.

Percy was acting extra hyper this morning. I mean, usually he bounced up and down in his seat, trying to fit as many pieces of bacon into his mouth that would fit, but today he literally couldn't sit down.

"Percy?" I asked again, exasperated. "Please, can we go on a ride today? I want to try cantering."

Percy looked at me oddly, like I was stupid, then went back to eating his eggs while standing up.

I sighed and stood up out of my own chair. "Hey," I called, pulling the plate out of his hand, "What is going on?"

He frowned, grabbing the plate back from me. "Fourth of July." He said, his mouth full and disgusting. I winced, looking away.

"What?" I asked, putting a hand on my hip.

He swallowed, thankfully. "It's almost the Fourth of July. We throw this huge party every year, everybody in town comes. We're going shopping for it today."

I frowned. "So… no trail ride?"

"Annabeth!" He said, a look of mock disgust on his face. "How can you think about horses when the party is almost here?"

I raised an eyebrow, suppressing a giggle. "Really." I said, forcing an annoyed look on my face.

Sally came out from the kitchen, laughing. "He takes his party seriously, trust me. Why don't you two go shopping today? Percy knows what we usually get, and Poseidon and I have some cleanup to do after the storm."

Percy nodded eagerly. "We can go into Kansas City!"

I almost agreed, but I paused. "I don't know… people could find out I'm there. My mom would definitely drag me home if the paparazzi found me."

Percy's face fell, but he argued with me. "Can't you just do your makeup a little different, with that…" He trailed off motioning towards his face, "That black line around your eye?"

I chuckled. "Eyeliner?" I asked with a smirk.

"Yeah," He nodded, "That thing."

"Maybe," I sighed, thinking out loud about it, "I wouldn't really have a lot of direct contact, I guess."

"So?" He said, looking at me hopefully. I couldn't say no.

"Yeah, let's go." I said, smiling. Percy let out a loud whoop, grinning.

"Come on, let's go then!" He said, running to the kitchen and putting his plate in the dishwasher.

"Let me change, I'll be right down." I promised, and ran upstairs. I threw on some city clothes, appreciating the chance to dress up a little. I put on the one sundress I had brought, a white embroidered shift dress, with my black wedges. I lined my eyes, put on some lipstick, and let my hair down. I stared at myself in the mirror, a stranger staring back. I hadn't looked like this in so long, I barely even recognized myself. It was good, though. I felt a little like myself. As much as I had wanted to run away from all of that back in California, I had missed the old me more than I would like to admit.

I ran down the stairs, finding Percy waiting impatiently at the door. "Come on!" He said, turning back to look at me. I walked out towards the car, but realized he wasn't following.

"Percy!" I called, "What's taking you so long?"

"Uh," He stuttered, running a hand through his hair. "Nothing, nothing, let's go." He said, shaking his head and walking towards the truck. We climbed in, waving goodbye to Sally and Poseidon.

"It's a long drive." He said, gripping the steering wheel tightly. "A couple hours at least, depending on the traffic when we get into the city."

I laughed. "Nothing can be as bad as LA."

Percy chuckled. "Sometimes I forget you're from the big city."

"Really?" I asked, waiting for him to continue.

"Yeah, well I mean, you just seem so at home here." He shook his head. "I don't know, it's just weird to picture you anywhere else."

I thought about it for a second before I spoke. "It is weird, honestly. When I think of my life now, I think of… this. Curvy roads, horses, country music." I shook my head slightly, playing with my fingers. "I really don't know what I want."

Percy stayed quiet, but I could see the thoughts turning in his head. I hadn't really thought about it, honestly, but now that Percy brought it up, it made me realize how short my time here was. At the end of the day, though, I was happier here. Could I really go back to the way things were?

We passed the drive mostly in silence after that, occasionally chatting about small things such as idiot drivers and arguing over the music. Eventually, a little under two hours later (Percy was a fast driver), I could spot the skyline across the meadows. I pressed my face up to the window, nose fogging up with glass.

Percy chuckled, "Excited?"

I smiled, "It's been a while. I guess I just forgot how much I missed the city."

Percy nodded, and I might have been mistaken but I thought I saw a hint of… remorse? Sadness? Pass across Percy's face. I let it go, though, not wanting to ruin our day.

He got off on the exit that said City Center, and I rolled down the window, looking up at the skyscrapers. Not as impressive as Frisco or New York, but it was nice to be back among people again.

We walked the streets, Percy looking a little out of his element. I giggled slightly, and Percy looked at me weirdly. "What's up?" He asked.

"Nothing," I said with a smile, shaking my head. "We've just been at the farm for so long, it's nice to finally be in _my_ element."

Percy gave me a sideways smile. "So, Ms. Big City Girl, where to first?"

I rolled my eyes. "Coffee," I announced, "It's been too long since I've had a solid, cold brew with almond milk."

It was Percy's turn to roll his eyes. "Jeez, what am I getting myself into?" He shook his head, but he was smiling as he pulled me into the coffee shop on the corner.

I sighed in delight as I took my first sip. "So good." I moaned, closing my eyes.

Percy looked at me weirdly. "It's coffee."

I threw him a look. "Uh, yeah, food of the gods."

Percy rolled his eyes again, grabbing my hand to pull me away from staring at the architecture around here. "First stop," He said, "Safeway."

He dragged me along, trying to get me to stop looking at every small detail on every building. "You know," He said, avoiding a person walking on the sidewalk. "When you said you liked architecture, I really didn't think you meant this much."

I laughed, taking a deep breath, trying to memorize the smell of the dirty city air that I had grown to love. "It's my absolute dream. I want to… build something permanent, I guess." We found the Safeway, and were wandering the aisles, Percy picking up all the things his parents wanted.

"Yeah?" He said, throwing a couple heads of lettuce in the basket.

"I mean, my whole life has been spent going from place to place, becoming different people. The one thing I've always wished for is that perfect family. Good jobs, cute kids, a loving husband. It just seems so out of reach now."

"Doesn't have to be." He said, examining the strawberries.

"Maybe not." I sighed, grabbing the box that looked better and putting it in.

"Seriously, Annabeth." He said, turning to look at me. "You should follow your dreams. If you don't want to act, don't. If you don't want to live with your mom, don't." His gaze was so intense, I felt like I was burning. He was gripping my shoulders, hard. "I want you to be happy, Annabeth."

I nodded slowly, not really sure what to say. This didn't seem like the kind of conversation to have in a grocery store, and we were earning quite a few stares.

He shook his head, releasing his grip. "Sorry, I don't know, I don't know what came over me." He stuttered, and started to turn away, but I stopped him.

"No, no, Percy, it's okay." I said, smiling. "That was sweet."

He smiled slightly, then turned away to pick out chips. "Okay… salt and vinegar or cracked pepper? Or…" His eyes lit up childishly. "Both?"

I laughed. "Both sounds good to me." He grinned, put both in the basket, and we set off, grabbing item after item. I was pretty sure I had underestimated how many people were going to be at this party.

-0-

By the end of the day, we had successfully completed everything his parents needed, from food to chairs, to marshmallow roasting tools. We had stopped for a quick bite, bagels at some place in the area we had ended up in. We hadn't left downtown, but I was pretty much lost.

Percy sighed, resting his back against the party store we had just come out of. "I'm hungry."

I laughed. "You're always hungry."

"True." He said with a grin, before his face turned serious. "Let's get dinner. Out here."

"Okay, Seaweed Brain." I smiled, and he took my hand again, leading me through the crowds. We arrived at a hotel, and for a second, the thought of Percy being a creeper who had rented a hotel room for us crossed my mind, but that was soon forgotten. We took the elevator up, to the fifteenth floor. Normally, that wouldn't have been very tall, but KC was smaller than what I was used to. The tallest building around here was maybe twenty floors.

"Percy." I gasped when we got to the top. "What is this place?" The view was incredible. Floor to ceiling windows surrounded the place. It was modern, with some sort of weird electro music playing. The food smelled amazing, and just by the chairs I could tell this place didn't come on the cheap.

"A…" He trailed off, looking confused for a second. "Asian fusion restaurant? I don't know, do you know what that means?"

I laughed, "Yes, Percy, I know what that means. We shouldn't… this is too much. We don't even have reservations!" I said, as he led me towards the check-in area.

"Yeah, we do. I called this morning, while you took that nap in the car." He grinned. "You like? You were talking about how much you missed Asian food, so I thought this place would be perfect."

I smiled, wide. "I love, Percy, thank you."

His grin got even wider, if that was possible. "Reservations for Jackson at 7." He told the hostess, and she smiled politely and showed us to our table.

I was still stunned. I scanned the menu, realizing how much I had missed my city food. "I don't even know what to say." I whispered, taking a drink of the water they brought.

"Don't worry about it." Percy said, with a dismissal wave of his hand. "You deserved it putting up with me for the past two weeks." I was about to protest, but he held up a hand. "Besides," He started, blushing a little. "You looked too beautiful not to be taken out tonight."

I blushed, hard, and I probably would have fainted if our waiter hadn't come right then to take our drink orders. I managed to order a sparkling water with lime, while Percy ordered a Diet Coke.

We ordered everything that looked good, from garlic fried rice to sushi to Thai style wings. Everything was absolutely delicious, and we were both stuffed when the night was over.

We were still laughing and chatting, sipping our drinks slowly, neither one of us wanting the night to end. It was almost nine thirty when Percy decided to be responsible. "We should get back," He said, and I started to pull out my wallet. He scoffed, "You're kidding, right?"

"Percy, no, let me." I protested.

He just shook his head. "Don't be ridiculous," He said with finality, and passed his card to the waiter without another word.

I let it go, and we stumbled back to the car, hands clutched together, drunk off life and each other. The truck was warm, and I curled into myself. Percy grabbed the blanket from the backseat and spread it over my legs. "Thanks." I whispered, but I realized he might have thought that was just about the blanket. "For everything." I corrected, resting my head on his shoulder and letting my eyes fall closed as he found his way back to the freeway. He didn't say anything, just pressed a warm kiss to my curls, his lips comforting and safe.

 **Hey, I'm back! So, I know I said this would be updated by the weekend, but I really didn't know where I wanted to go with this chapter. Then, I was doing my homework, and the idea hit me, so of course I avoided all my homework and wrote this instead.**

 **In case you guys didn't know, I have a new story, The First Season, so please go check it out! Different Cities will be updated in the next few days.**

 **Hope you enjoyed! Thank you for all the follows, favorites, and reviews, I love you all. Tell me what you think!**

 **-a**


End file.
